Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to overhaul the school transport system to ensure children have confirmation of available bus spaces well in advance of the commencement of school terms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38037/18]

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

In the 2017/18 school year over 117,000 children, including over 12,000 children with special educational needs, were 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 at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017.

Children are generally eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the current school year where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated.

The closing date for parents to submit their payment details is generally the last Friday in July and Bus Éireann begin the process of issuing tickets in the first weeks of August each year.

Bus Éireann has been asked to examine the communication strategy to determine if it is possible to issue earlier emails to families, taking into account the application process deadlines and route design requirements.

The terms of the School Transport Schemes are applied equitably on a national basis.