Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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101. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the concerns regarding the school transport currently in operation for a school in County Wexford (details supplied); what considerations she is giving to amending the current school bus route or creating a new route to cater for the whole parish similar to the concessionary service established and operated in Gowran, County Kilkenny recently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30305/24]

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.

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 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.

A minimum number of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where capacity exists and such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for the spare seats using an agreed selection process.

The availability of concessionary transport may vary from year to year and cannot be guaranteed for the duration of a child’s post primary school education cycle.

Bus Éireann has advised that there is a school transport service operating to the school referred that caters for eligible and concessionary children from a distinct locality and due to time constraints this service cannot be extended to cater for other concessionary children who reside outside of this area as this may inconvenience eligible children.

A review of the School Transport Scheme has been completed. This review was conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness, and sustainability and to ensure it services students and their families adequately.

The School Transport Scheme 2030 report has now been published. It marks the largest review of the School Transport Scheme since it was established in 1967. The Government is committed to working to achieve the report’s recommendation of expanding access to the scheme so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030.

Overall, the recommended changes to the future operation of the Scheme concern; expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges, charges and grants and over time, moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money to the Exchequer.

A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations will begin in September 2024. This will include a shared effort between my Department and the Department of Transport to pilot and introduce greater integration of transport networks with school transport routes.

The scale of the scheme is significant, and any changes will take time to plan and implement. Therefore, it is considered prudent to implement the proposed scheme changes on a phased basis.

It is intended, subject to resources, to commence implementing the revised eligibility criteria in the 2025/2026 school year.