Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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315. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will be made regarding school transport home pick-up for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19164/19]

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

There are currently over 117,500 children, including over 13,000 children with special educational needs, transported in over 5,000 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. 

Under the terms of the Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school.

Bus Éireann is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport routes. Bus Éireann endeavours, within available resources, to ensure that each eligible child has a reasonable level of school transport service in the context of the Scheme nationally.

Where practicable, and subject to considerations of cost and logistics, routes are planned to avoid an eligible child having to travel more than 2.4 kilometres to or from a pick up/set down point. Bus Éireann has advised that the family in question is currently being offered a service within the above guidelines.

It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children are brought safely to, and collected safely from, the designated Bus Éireann pick up and set down point.