Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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409. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the changes in the school transport scheme that have been made in the past 12 months; and the engagement taken with stakeholders in the scheme. [38239/17]

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 2016/17 school year almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 children with special educational needs, were 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.

In general, children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school.

There have been no changes to the eligibility criteria for school transport in the past 12 months.

The terms of the School Transport Schemes continue to be applied equitably on a national basis.