Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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777. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of providing 1,000 additional places in the school transport system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31254/21]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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815. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of abolishing school transport fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31840/21]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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816. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount in fares collected in the school bus transport system in 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31841/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 777, 815 and 816 together.

School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 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.

The average cost of providing transport for a child to a primary or post-primary school is estimated at €1,000 per annum. Therefore the cost of providing 1,000 additional places to the School Transport Scheme would cost approximately €1,000,000.

In 2020, receipts from school transport charges amounted to approximately €12m (net of refunds issued during the 2019/20 school year). If school transport fees were to be abolished this would be the additional cost on the scheme.