Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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190. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reasoning behind the recently announced free school transport scheme, with reference to the closing of the registration portal and, in particular, the position of pupils who had registered and paid the fee for an annual ticket in April 2022 and were then informed the tickets were revoked and refunds issued; if her attention has been drawn to pupils having been granted tickets and not availing of the scheme, resulting in places becoming available; if tickets may reissue to those whose places were revoked, having been accepted and paid for, in view of current challenges and anomalies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47763/22]

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

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.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures. 

School Transport ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

The online account management system, known as the Family Portal, which had been closed since registrations shut on 29 July, reopened on Thursday 25 August, this closure  was necessary so that Bus Éireann could adapt their IT and management systems. 

Bus Éireann are processing applications and issuing tickets to eligible pupils as soon as extra buses and drivers are sourced and become available to provide transport for the higher numbers qualifying for the service any additional capacity on these services will be offered to concessionary applicants.

The normal eligibility criteria of the scheme still apply and tickets continue to be allocated in line with this criteria.  Pupils at primary level are eligible where they live no less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school. At post primary level, students who live no less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre are deemed eligible.

Any pupils/students who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, or otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.

In line with normal practice, all eligible children who completed the application and ticket registration process on time for the 2022/2023 school year will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

In addition, pending completion of the outcome of the full review of the School Transport Scheme, Temporary Alleviation Measures at post-primary level will be continued for the 2022/2023 school year. Under these measures, which were initially introduced in 2019, transport will provided for post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school and who applied by the 29^thApril and registered for a ticket by the 29^thJuly.

Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.

Following discussions with Minister McGrath and officials in Department of Public Expenditure and Reform  as part of the budgetary process some additional funding has been approved for the scheme which will allow officials in consultation with Bus Éireann to consider and evaluate where temporary additional capacity may be available.