Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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187. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a payment will issue to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21457/17]

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

Currently almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.

Children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

An eligible child for whom no transport service is available may, following an application for transport within the prescribed time limits, receive a Remote Area Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements.

This family applied for transport in August 2008, were eligible for transport, but Bus Éireann has advised that the child in question did not avail of this service. In these circumstances the family were not eligible for the Remote Area Grant when the service was subsequently withdrawn.

The family has now applied for school transport for the younger child and this application will be processed by Bus Éireann for the 2017/18 school year.