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 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.

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

Already over 134,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the 2022/2023 school year. The number of tickets issued has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year.

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 will be 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, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.

Temporary Alleviation Measures at post-primary level are continued for the 2023/2024 school year, this means that transport arrangements will continue to be provided where a service is in operation and capacity exists for a number of concessionary post-primary students who are attending their second nearest school, who have applied and registered on time and who live more than 4.8km from their nearest school. Students availing of TAMS are deemed concessionary and therefore, will be allocated a seat only once all eligible students have been facilitated, and there is capacity available on the service.

Bus Éireann has advised that the schools referred to by the Deputy are not equidistant from the town referred.

Families residing on the western side of the town would be eligible for the first school referred while families living on the eastern side of the town are eligible to the second school referred.