Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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403. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will honour the commitment made by the Minister of State in his Department that all concessionary students will be accommodated on school buses; if he will address the concessionary students availing of the service on the Gortnahoe, County Tipperary, to Thurles, County Tipperary, school bus route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24728/16]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.

During the 2015/16 school year in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.

In general, children are eligible for school transport if they are attending their nearest school and satisfy the requisite distance criteria.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only.

Transport on a concessionary basis is subject to a number of conditions which are detailed in the School Transport Scheme such as the existence of spare seats on the bus after all eligible children have been catered for and payment of the school transport charge.

The Programme for Government commits to review the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme prior to Budget 2017.

Pending this review, there was no planned programme of downsizing school buses in the current school year. There were route changes and variations in line with normal operational decisions that occur from year to year, and any impacts in terms of increases or decreases of available places nationally was marginal, in line with what occurs every year.

It is important to point out that there has been no impact on children who are eligible for school transport.