Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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117. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he will take to address the issues arising from changes in school transport provisions in north County Kildare which has severely disadvantaged some persons; if arrangements can be put in place to address these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32001/17]

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.

The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.

Changes to the eligibility criteria for this Scheme were announced in December 2010 as part of measures contained in Budget 2011 and derived from recommendations contained in a comprehensive Value for Money review of the scheme. In general, these changes mean that children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school.

This approach complements the overall Department policy which is to ensure that specific school accommodation needs for defined geographical areas are addressed in an orderly fashion.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only which is subject to a number of conditions including the availability of spare seats on an existing service and payment of the annual charge. 

It is important that the terms of the Post Primary School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.