Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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306. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of those eligible for school transport applicants that had or have not yet secured a place on a bus due to late payment of fees by county and month from September 2021 to date in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49743/21]

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.

All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed 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 who have applied and paid on time will be accommodated on school transport services. 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.

Bus Éireann has provided the information the Deputy requires in the two tables which are attached - details of mainstream eligible pupils who paid late where no ticket has been issued and mainstream eligible pupils who paid late where a ticket has been issued.