Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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168. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of returning to previous catchment boundaries in the school transport scheme before changes introduced in 2012. [28210/16]

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.

While it is not possible to provide costings on a reversion of school transport eligibility to the former catchment boundary area system, I can advise that between 2010 and 2014 the changes recommended in the Value for Money Review of the Scheme contributed to a reduction of some €9m in the overall cost of school transport provision.