Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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835. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will liaise with the Department of Transport and Bus Éireann to urgently expedite school transport for all schools in County Clare which have taken in Ukrainian pupils. [19495/22]

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 121,400 children, including over 15,500 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 €289m in 2021. 

The purpose of the 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 Department of Education in consultation with Bus Éireann has put in place a new process to facilitate the provision of School Transport Scheme Services for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine. For children residing with a host family or for children of Ukrainian families living in their own private accommodation, an application for school transport can be made  via a link to a form (which is also be available in Ukrainian and Russian) for families/host families to complete in order to apply for school transport. This form is available on Gov.ie.  Children will be accommodated quickly on existing services where there is capacity. Children will not be charged for their ticket and normal eligibility criteria will be waived. If there is no service or capacity, a grant may be offered to the family as appropriate.

For families and children residing in accommodation centres (or similar), school principals may apply for transport for children attending their school who are residing in such accommodation.  School principals should complete the information required on a form which is available on Gov.ie and return it to their local REALT co-ordinator.  The information will be submitted by REALT to School Transport Section of the Department of Education, which will in turn liaise with Bus Éireann in order to provide school transport services as required.   

To date, a number of school transport services have been established in County Clare for children who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine.  

Applications for school transport continue to be received and the Department is continuing to liaise with Bus Éireann to provide transport arrangements as required.