Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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166. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills why a child (details supplied) in County Clare has been refused school transport given that the school the child is attending is closer to the child's residence than the schools identified by Bus Éireann; if she will provide the detailed maps supporting this decision to refuse school transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3326/16]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 km from and are attending their nearest education centre/school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Distance eligibility is determined by Bus Éireann by measuring the shortest traversable route from a child's home to the relevant education centre; it may be either a pedestrian or vehicular route, and it is not necessarily the route that the school bus takes.

In cases where distance eligibility is marginal or in dispute, vehicles fitted with calibrated measuring devices which measure the distance down to the nearest metre may be used to establish the exact distance and/or the nearest appropriate education centre to the child's home. In this regard, Bus Éireann has confirmed that the child in question is not attending her nearest school and is therefore not eligible for school transport.

The terms of the Post Primary School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.