Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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164. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will issue to a person (details supplied) on their appeal for school transport. [49956/17]

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 over 11,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,500 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.

Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that the child is not attending her nearest school and is therefore not eligible for school transport.

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.

In cases where distance eligibility is marginal or in dispute, vehicles fitted with calibrated measuring devices which measure the distance down to the nearest metre may be used to establish the exact distance and/or the nearest school to the child's home.

In this regard, Bus Éireann has been requested to carry out a calibrated measurement from the home of the child in question to the school attended.