Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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289. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a breakdown by county of the number of pupils travelling to secondary school on private buses and not covered by the school transport scheme. [24321/23]

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 149,000 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. There has been an increase of 21% tickets issued to eligible students and 38% tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the current 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.

In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 5,200 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.

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

The School Transport Scheme is an important service for families and children. The purpose of the 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.

Children are eligible for transport 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 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, are considered for spare seats that may exist on services, after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

Parents of a child wishing to avail of school transport services are required to apply on-line on Bus Éireann website at www.buseireann.ie

The closing date for new applications for the 2023/2024 school year was Friday 28^thApril. The closing date for payment/entering medical details for tickets for the 2023/2024 school year in Friday 9^thJune.

Commercial contractors who provide transport for schools on a private hire or commercial basis but who are not contracted by Bus Éireann to operate on the Department’s School Transport Scheme do not fall under the remit of the Department of Education. The Department does not collect information regarding private transport arrangements.