Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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202. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the status of the school transport review recommendation to reduce the minimum number of students needed for a route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53119/17]

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 12,000 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.

The purpose of the 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 meet the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school.

A minimum number of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits.

The Programme for Government committed to a review of the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme. As part of the review I established a Cross Party Group to feed into the review. This review has been completed and is available on the Department's website.

However, following a meeting of this Cross Party Group a range of submissions relating to the School Transport Scheme were received from members of the Oireachtas. As these submissions largely related to the scheme in general they were outside the scope of the original review.

These submissions have, however been examined. In instances where a route is to be withdrawn under the minimum numbers policy and where school affected can show evidence that the number of eligible pupils will again reach ten or more within two years then this route should not be withdrawn.