Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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188. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has put in place guidelines or issued circulars to schools on the standards of vehicles to be used when transporting children during school hours on trips, lessons and so on outside of the school transport scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9255/17]

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

Currently over 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million km annually.

Buses provide services to carry schoolchildren both under the Department of Education & Skills School Transport Scheme and also in a private capacity hired by, for example, parents of schoolchildren or schools. My Department and Bus Éireann has no remit over services operating outside the Scheme.

Bus Éireann has advised that every school bus is required to be tested under the Road Safety Authority's (RSA) Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness Test (CVRT), which is the primary annual vehicle safety inspection.

The Department has made its EsiNet system available to circulate the RSA's road safety message to schools and is willing to assist the RSA in disseminating information to schools on bus safety issues.