Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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116. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to clarify what is meant when Bus Éireann states that the Expressway and other businesses of Bus Éireann are kept in separate accounts; what is further meant when the company states that the school transport funds are kept in a separate account; and similarly when it states, as an official from the organisation stated at a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, that the school transport funds are hermetically sealed. [22976/16]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Bus Éireann is a transport management company, whose principal activities are the management and planning of an integrated network of services, using its own and sub-contracted resources.

This integrated network covers long distance coach services, local, rural, commuter, provincial city and town bus services. The company is also responsible for the management and provision of the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department.

The company accounts for the revenue and expenditure of its three principal activities, Commercial Services, PSO Services and School Transport Services and that is what is meant by the above statement.

The phrase "hermetically sealed" means that any surplus arising in any one year in relation to school transport can only be used on school transport activities.