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 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02m.

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.

Bus Éireann has advised that in at the start of the existing school year they issued tickets for school transport on bus services that had been secured for the 23/24 school year. Unfortunately, a number of difficulties arose in having services in place in some localities with a small number of contracted services.

Bus Éireann continues to work intensively to ensure that transport arrangements are put in place as soon as possible, and every effort is being made to ensure transport can be sourced and put in place as soon as possible.

For families who have been issued with tickets on board one of these services affected, the Department is sanctioning an interim arrangement to assist with the cost of alternative arrangements until your service is in place.

The Exceptional No Service Interim Grant will be made available to families retrospectively. This payment will be paid as an exceptional measure and will be calculated from the date the service ceased up to the date that a service is provided these children. As the payment is based on the number of days a child attends school up until the time the service has commenced, it cannot be paid in advance.

This grant is linked to ticket holders for the number of days that these children attended school from the date the service ceased until the school transport service commenced.

For families whose services have not yet commenced, School Transport Section will process payment for this grant for the number of days that they have travelled to school to date. Families should request that their school submit the statement of attendance form to School Transport Section and these grant payments will be processed.