Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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359. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus ticket will be issued to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48051/22]

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 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. 

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.

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.

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Temporary Alleviation Measures at post-primary level will be continued for the 2022/2023 school year pending completion of the review of the School Transport Scheme. This will mean that transport arrangements will continue to be provided for a number of post-primary students who are attending their second nearest school, who have applied and registered on time and who live more than 4.8km from their nearest school.  Families who normally would pay an annual ticket charge will not be charged a fee for their school bus ticket for the 2022/23 school.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

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 a random selection process.

Bus Éireann has advised that a ticket was issued to the pupil on 7th September, 2022 for the first  route mentioned by the Deputy. Bus Éireann has also confirmed that there are seats available on the second route mentioned, and Bus Éireann are currently liaising with the family in this regard. A ticket will be issued to the requested route in due course.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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360. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus ticket will be issued to a person (details supplied). [48052/22]

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 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. 

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.

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.

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

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 a random selection process.

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil(s) referred to by the Deputy in this case reside 2.9 km from their home to Naomh Clar NS, Tubberclair, Co. Westmeath (RN: 18505G), their nearest school and school of attendance.

Therefore, these pupil(s) are not eligible for transport as they do not meet the distance criteria under the Primary School Transport Scheme.  Ticket requests were received for these pupil(s) on 21/07/2022 however, the pupils were unsuccessful in obtaining concessionary seats for the 2022/23 school year.  The existing school transport service is currently operating to capacity and there are no seats available at present.

As Bus Éireann process remaining applications and where additional services may need to be put in place for eligible children, any capacity on these services will be offered to concessionary applicants.

Following discussions with Minister McGrath and officials in DPER 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. 

The initial focus will be where families applied on time and who previously held concessionary tickets, to alleviate the impact of the increased demands on the scheme for those families.   However, it is important to stress that this is subject to capacity considerations.  Constraints in sourcing vehicles and drivers in certain areas of the country may also mean that it may take a number of weeks to explore solutions for additional capacity.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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361. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus ticket will be issued to a person (details supplied). [48054/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.  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. 

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.

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.

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil(s) referred to by the Deputy in this case reside 2.9 km from their home to Moate Community School, Co. Westmeath (RN: 91501L), their nearest school and school of attendance.  These pupil(s) therefore, are not eligible for transport as they do not meet the distance criteria under the Post Primary School Transport Scheme.

Ticket requests were requested for these pupil(s) on 28/08/2022, however at this stage the existing service was already operating to capacity and there are currently no seats available.

As Bus Éireann process remaining applications and where additional services may need to be put in place for eligible children, any capacity on these services will be offered to concessionary applicants.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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362. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus ticket will be issued to a person (details supplied). [48055/22]

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/Post Primary Centre 

Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

In general children are eligible for school transport if they meet the distance criteria and are attending their nearest post primary school/post primary centre.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. 

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil to which the Deputy refers is not eligible for transport as they are attending their fourth nearest Post Primary Centre.

However, Bus Éireann has also advised that there is an existing school transport available to  accommodate this pupil and  a ticket was sent to this pupil on 02/08/2022.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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363. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus ticket will be issued to a person (details supplied). [48056/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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, 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.

Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

In general children are eligible for school transport if they meet the distance criteria and are attending their nearest post primary school/post primary centre.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. 

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is eligible for transport as they are attending their nearest school.

There is an existing service available to accommodate this pupil and a ticket was sent to this pupil, however, it appears this ticket has not been received by the family and has been re-issued on 28/09/2022 and should be received shortly.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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364. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school bus ticket will be issued to a person (details supplied). [48057/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.  In the last 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.  

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. 

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. 

Bus Éireann are processing applications and issuing tickets as soon as extra buses and drivers are sourced and become available to provide transport for the higher numbers qualifying for the service.

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.

Bus Éireann have advised that they have liaised with the family directly to seek further information in relation to their application. A ticket has now issued to the family and it should be received at their address in the coming days. 

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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365. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the temporary alleviation measures provided for a student (details supplied) on the bus route from Straide to Castlebar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48060/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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366. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the temporary alleviation measures that will be provided for two students (details supplied) on the bus route from Straide to Castlebar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48061/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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367. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the temporary alleviation measures that will be provided for two students (details supplied) on the bus route from Straide to Castlebar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48062/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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368. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the temporary alleviation measures that will be provided for two students (details supplied) on the bus route from Straide to Castlebar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48063/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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369. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the temporary alleviation measures that will be provided for a student (details supplied) on the bus route from Ballyvary to Castlebar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48064/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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370. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the temporary alleviation measures that will be provided for two students (details supplied) on the bus route from Ballyvary to Castlebar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48065/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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371. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when temporary alleviation measures will be provided for a child (details supplied) on the school bus route from Straide to Castlebar who is a concessionary ticket holder; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48075/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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372. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when temporary alleviation measures will be provided for children (details supplied) within a household on the school bus route from Straide to Castlebar who is a concessionary ticket holder; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48076/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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373. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when temporary alleviation measures will be provided for children (details supplied) within a household on the school bus route from Straide to Castlebar who is a concessionary ticket holder; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48077/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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374. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when temporary alleviation measures will be provided for a child (details supplied) on the school bus route from Straide to Castlebar who is a concessionary ticket holder; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48078/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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375. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when temporary alleviation measures will be provided for a child (details supplied) on the school bus route from Straide to Castlebar who is a concessionary ticket holder; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48079/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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376. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the temporary alleviation measures provided for children (details supplied) on the school bus route from Ballyvary to Castlebar; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48080/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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381. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when temporary alleviation measures will be provided for students (details supplied) on a school bus route who are concessionary ticket holders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48143/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 365 to 376, inclusive, and 381 together.

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Temporary Alleviation Measures are measures pending completion of the review of the School Transport Scheme, that was initially introduced at post-primary level in 2019 and will be continued for the 2022/2023 school year. Under these measures, 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.

Bus Éireann has advised that the post-primary children referred to by the Deputy are all attending their third, fourth or fifth school and therefore do not meet the criteria of the Temporary Alleviation Measures mentioned above.

Bus Éireann have also advised that the primary school children referred to by the Deputy reside 1.7 km from home to their nearest school and school of attendance. These children are not eligible for school transport as they do not meet the distance criteria as set out in the primary school transport scheme.

Bus Éireann also advise that the existing school transport services are currently operating to capacity and there are no seats available and that the children referred were unsuccessful in obtaining concessionary seats for the 2022/23 school year.

Following discussions with Minister McGrath and officials in DPER 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.

The initial focus will be where families applied on time and who previously held concessionary tickets, to alleviate the impact of the increased demands on the scheme for those families.However, it is important to stress that this is subject to capacity considerations. Constraints in sourcing vehicles and drivers in certain areas of the country may also mean that it may take a number of weeks to explore solutions for additional capacity.