Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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957. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 787 of 15 July 2021 in respect to the €3.023 million cost of hygiene measures as part of the school transport scheme in 2020, the amount allocated to and spent by Bus Éireann; and the amount allocated to and spent by private operators respectively. [39567/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were 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 has advised that an amount of €610,000 was spent in the 2020/21 school year on Bus Éireann’s own school transport services toward the cost of Covid-19 hygiene measures and €2,413,000 was spent by private contractors who operated school transport on behalf of my Department in that same year. The allowance afforded to private operators for delivering enhanced hygiene requirements was a contribution to overall costs in view of the fact that these vehicles engage in other private trips outside of contracted hours for school transport.