Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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360. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school transport scheme will be free for eligible families for the upcoming 2023/2024 school year; if not, if an announcement will be made regarding the reintroduction of fees in the near future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10878/23]

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.

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 are now accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

In addition, temporary alleviation measures have been continued for the current 2022/23 school year, pending completion of the review and this means that transport is 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 29th April 2022 and registered for a ticket by the 29th July 2022.

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

For the 2023/2024 school year, reduced charges of €50 per student at primary level and €75 per student at post-primary level will apply, with a cap per family of €125. This means that ticketholders will save up to €50 at primary and €275 at post-primary, with an overall reduction in the family maximum contribution of €525 compared to the fees for 2021/2022 school year. This reduction in fees is at a cost of €49m.

Planning for the operation of the school transport scheme for the 2023/24 is expected to be completed shortly. Bus Éireann will advertise the details of the 2023/2024 school year process through their website and social media platforms. Details will also be available on gov.ie/schooltransport.

Eligible children holding valid medical cards and eligible children with special educational needs remain exempt from paying the annual charge.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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361. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will be releasing the results of a review of the school transport scheme which was carried out in February 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10879/23]

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 4,000 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.

The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.

A review of the School Transport Scheme commenced in February 2021. The review is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure that it serves students and their families adequately.

Significant consultation has been undertaken as part of this review. A public survey was administered for parents/guardians and students who use the service and those who do not use the service but who would like to. A broad array of stakeholders including schools, special education interest groups, industry representatives and other Government Departments were all consulted as part of this review.

Phase 1 of the review examined the impact of eligibility criteria on mainstream pupils who were eligible for transport to their nearest school but attending their next nearest school. The report was completed in June 2021.

Following consideration of this report, for the 2021/2022 school year, the provision of temporary alleviation measures was approved for transport for post-primary students who are otherwise eligible for school transport, but were attending their second nearest school and had applied and paid on time. These measures have been continued for the current 2022/2023 school year, pending completion of the review. These measures mean that transport is provided for post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school and, who applied for school transport by the 29th April 2022 and registered for a ticket by the 29th July 2022. Phase two of the review has progressed significantly and is being completed in tandem with phase three which is well underway.

While work on the review was impacted somewhat by the current conflict in Ukraine, and by the increased demand for the scheme in summer 2022 due to fees being waived, my officials are working to complete phase 3 of the review within the coming weeks with recommendations on the future operation of the Department’s School Transport Scheme. Once approved by Government it is planned that the review will be published.