Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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418. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus ticket will be issued for a child (details supplied) whose sibling has a ticket and is on the bus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35229/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education.

In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over €219m in 2019.

The purpose of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability.

Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers. Applications for transport provision, under the terms of this scheme, should only be completed in circumstances where children are not in a position to avail of standard school transport services.

The Department and Bus Éireann are very conscious of the specialised nature of transport provision for children with special educational needs. This is reflected in the standard of dedicated service provided and the fact that these services are generally planned and timetabled to operate on a door-to-door basis.

In certain cases, the Department also provides funding to schools for the employment of escorts to accompany children whose care and safety needs require this level of support while they travel to and from school.

One of the children, to whom the Deputy refers, is eligible under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, and Bus Éireann has advised she is availing of a service that caters for a number of children; there is also an escort on board this service.

Bus Éireann has advised that the other sibling resides 0.4km from home to their nearest school, and is not eligible for school transport under the terms of the Primary School Transport Scheme as they are not attending their nearest school. The school that they are attending is 12.8kms from where the family reside. Bus Eireann will issue a full refund to the family.