Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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287. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide school bus transport for a school (details supplied) to enable students access the site used for PE, which is currently a 20 minute walk each way for the duration that the school remains in its temporary accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5263/23]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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295. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a decision has been taken on an application by a school (details supplied) to cover transportation costs to get students to and from a community centre for physical education due to no availability in their current temporary school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5276/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 287 and 295 together.

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the current school year over 147,900 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 3,800 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.

The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €332.2m.

School transport funded by my Department is intended to cater for children and young person’s attending schools at primary and post primary level.

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. The request in the details supplied by the Deputy is outside of the terms of the School Transport Scheme. Funding is not provided to private contractors operating outside of the scheme.