Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus from Crusheen, County Clare, to Tulla will be considered for the sizeable student population there in view of the fact that Bus Éireann’s deadline for ticket applications is three months away. [3127/21]

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 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.

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 scheme, children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria (3.2km at primary and 4.8km at post-primary) and are attending their nearest school/education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language

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.

Routes are planned on the basis of the locations of children who are eligible for school transport only.

Bus Éireann has advised that pupils who reside in the area referred to by Deputy and who are attending the school referred to are not eligible for school transport under the terms of the scheme as it is not their closest school.