Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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73. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of pupils at primary and post-primary levels that lost out on school transport for the 2016 to 2017 school year due to a change in the criteria for eligibility for such transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30180/16]

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.

Changes to the school transport scheme which were announced in Budget 2011 derived from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the Scheme and were implemented from the commencement of the 2011/12 school year.

There was no change in criteria for eligibility in the 2016/2017 school year from a school transport perspective. There were vehicle 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.