Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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622. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the additional buses provided for school transport when at 50% capacity will be retained for 100% capacity. [42815/21]

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. 

 All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time for the 2021/22 school year will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.  In addition all post-primary pupils who are otherwise eligible for school transport but are attending their second nearest school and have applied and paid on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. This arrangement is in place for current school year pending completion of the full review of the School Transport Scheme.  

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and are offered seats where capacity exists after all eligible children have been catered for. Late applicants and/or families who pay late are not guaranteed a seat and will only be allocated a seat if capacity is available once seats are allocated to those families who applied and paid on time for transport services for the 2021/2022 school year. 

Planning for school transport for the 2021/22 school year has proceeded on the basis that the public health measures in place as schools closed at the end of the last school year would remain as term began in this new school year. This includes the recommendations from Public Health that post-primary services would operate at 50% capacity and that masks would be worn. All other measures relating to hygiene, pre-assigned seating, cleaning and the wearing of masks by post-primary students are also in place.  However, as the vaccination programme for children on post-primary services is rolled out and as the lifting of restrictions on public transport services proceeds, the capacity limit of 50% on post-primary school transport services will be subject to ongoing review and the Department will be considering the position in this regard over the coming weeks.

Should post-primary services resume operating at 100% capacity and  where additional vehicles that were provided for social distancing purposes are removed, any spare capacity available will be offered on those services to concessionary pupils or late applicants where such capacity exists.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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623. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will examine a matter (details supplied) regarding school transport. [42816/21]

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.

Under the terms of the Department's Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on will be accommodated on school transport services for the 2021/22 school year where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport and who apply for school transport are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

Bus Eireann has confirmed that the family, to whom the Deputy refers, resides 3.1kms from the school that they are attending therefore they are not eligible for school transport. School Transport Section has asked Bus Éireann to carry out a calibrated measurement on the route in question and will revert to the family when further information is available.