Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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429. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when parents will receive payments under the school transport grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44749/20]

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. 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.

In the current school year over 113,100 children, including over 14,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.

Special Transport Grants under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs are processed throughout the year as and when they are received in the School Transport Section with the majority of grants being paid during the summer months.

With regard to transport arrangements for the Summer Programme 2020, my Department committed to providing grant funding to support families with the cost of transport arrangements for those children who were eligible for school transport and who were approved to participate in the school based Summer Programme.

School Transport Section has commenced processing payment of these grants to families who are eligible and payments will continue to be processed in the coming weeks.