Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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180. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport will be provided at a location (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28329/16]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Bus Éireann is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport routes on behalf of my Department.  Bus Éireann endeavours, within available resources, to ensure that each eligible child has a reasonable level of school transport service in the context of the Scheme nationally.

Routes are planned so that, as far as possible, no eligible child will have more than 3.2 kilometres to travel to a pick-up point. Children are generally expected to make their own way, or to be brought to convenient pick-up points along the main route.

Bus Éireann has advised that eligible children who avail of the service in question have a service within the guidelines of the scheme and the requested extension would involve additional mileage and earlier collection times for other children on the service.

Accordingly, there are no proposals to change the current service.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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181. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide transport for young adults attending special services. [28333/16]

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.

I wish to advise the Deputy that Special Schools funded by my Department are intended to cater for children and young persons with special educational needs from 4 years until the end of the school year in which they reach their 18th year.

At that point, the Department of Health/Health Service Executive assumes direct responsibility for young adults with special educational needs who are over 18 years. My Department, at that stage, may allocate resources towards an education component of such provision.

It is important to note that students who transfer to adult service settings can continue to participate in educational programmes through further adult educational programmes or in adult settings which are allocated resources towards educational provision.

There is no provision within my Department's School Transport Scheme to provide transport for young adults as referred to by the Deputy.