Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

507. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 479 of 27 January 2021, the status of the reimbursement of the agreed mileage rate under the July provision transportation grant; the number of families still awaiting reimbursement; the reason for the ongoing delays in this regard; if delayed reimbursements will be paid with interest given that it is now seven months since the applications were made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10395/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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.

With regard to transport arrangements for the Summer Programme, 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.

All families who were eligible for transport at that time and who availed of the school based Summer Programme 2020 are entitled to receive the grant in question. School Transport Section has now processed payment of these grants to all eligible families for which all required details had been received. School Transport Section are now looking at families where all details have not yet been received and are contacting relevant schools with a view to having these details forwarded to the Department. To date, payment has been made to approximately 900 families.