Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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151. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on school transport for the coming year; the cost for parents; and the number of places that will be provided next year. [14329/23]

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 and the 2023/2024 school year(s), 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 apply and pay by the closing dates. 

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.

The Bus Éireann portal is now open for new applications. The closing date for new applications is 28th April 2023 and full details on eligibility can be found by clicking: gov.ie/schooltransport.

The Bus Éireann portal will open for payment/entering medical card details for School Transport tickets for the 2023/24 school year between the 3rd April and the 9th June 2023. 

Applications or payments made after the closing date will be deemed late and families may not be guaranteed a seat at that stage.

Payment or registering medical card details for all pupils who wish to be considered for the allocation of a ticket for the 2023/24 school year must be made by the 9th June 2023. 

Families are strongly urged to make sure that they pay/enter medical card details on time.  As the school transport scheme is demand led and the closing dates to submit an application and payment has not yet passed, it is not possible to provide details on the numbers that will use the service in the 2023/2024 school year.