Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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430. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when school transport will be available for a special needs school student (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8718/23]

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 of Education. 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 €338.9m.

In cases where the department is satisfied that a pupil's nearest school is full, eligibility for school transport will be determined based on the distance a pupil lives from the next nearest school in relation to ethos and language.

To establish that the nearest school is full families must provide evidence that an application for enrolment was made within the deadline dates specified by the school, and a letter from the school authorities confirming that the school was full at the time of enrolment.

The family of the pupil to which the Deputy refers contacted School Transport Section in my Department to request School Transport to his school of attendance. Officials from my Department's School Transport Section contacted three schools in the area which the pupil resides.

Two schools have confirmed that they were oversubscribed for the 2022/23 school year but one school has advised that at time of enrolment they had capacity for the 2022/23 school year and that no rejection of enrolment was made for this pupil in respect of the 2022/23 school year.

As there was capacity in the area to which the pupil resides for the 2022/23 school year, the pupil cannot be deemed as eligible for transport to his school of attendance.

Officials of my Department contacted the family directly requesting confirmation of rejection of enrolment application for the pupil at the named schools in the area to which the pupils resides, during the enrolment period for the 2022/23 school year. This information has not been received to date.