John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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491. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the school bus pick-up point at the limited car parking space at Ballykeeffe, Kilkenny, facilitating 27 pupils attending schools in Kilkenny city, and which is considered extremely dangerous and unsafe, will be relocated to a much safer location at the car park Kilmanagh village, Kilkenny; if the matter will be expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12613/21]

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.

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. Parents are responsible for ensuring that children are brought safely to and collected safely from Bus Éireann designated pick up and set down points.

Bus Éireann has advised that the pick-up point referred to by the Deputy has been assessed as being suitable as a pick-up point under the School Transport Scheme and diverting the service is not possible due to time constraints.