Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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320. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 405 and 406 of 26 April 2016, the date of the first time Bus Éireann informed his Department and the subsequent dates in each year since 2005 on which it informed his Department that it had made no profit from school transport in a particular financial year in tabular form and to clarify his understanding of the definition of profit in answering this question. [10472/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The arrangements under which the school transport scheme operates are set out in a document of 1975 which provides the basis for payment to Bus Éireann.

The Department receives a copy of the Statement of Account for School Transport, prepared by the CIE Group auditors, each year which confirms that, in the opinion of the auditors, the Statement of Account has been prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the Summary of Accounting Arrangements relating to the Transport Scheme for Primary and Post-Primary School children dated 1 January 1975 and with the bases and assumptions disclosed therein.

Bus Éireann has provided assurances to my Department that the Company does not make a profit on school transport and that any surplus that may arise in the operation of school transport services in any one year is ring-fenced exclusively for reinvestment in the school transport scheme.

The Statements of Account are published on my Department's website at www.education.ie