Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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642.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when school transport will be provided to a school (details supplied) for a pupil; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[35256/24]

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 2023/24 school year over 163,800 children, including over 136,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 20,200 pupils with special educational needs, and 7,400 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine were 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.

Over 140,000 mainstream tickets have issued for the 2024/2025 school year, which is already 3% more than the total tickets issued for the full 2023/2024 school year.

The National Council for Special Education acts in an advisory role to the Department of Education on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs. Under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, the Department will consider the report of the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO).

School transport is provided to children with special educational needs who are attending the nearest school to their place of residence that is or can be resourced to meet their educational needs, as identified by the SENO.

I am pleased to advise that the pupil referred to by the Deputy has been deemed eligible for transport under the above scheme. Her application is currently with Bus Éireann who are reviewing the transport options available.

Where a new service is sanctioned, this will require that a procurement and vetting process is followed, and sometimes the school may also need to employ a school transport escort. Procurement of a school transport service and the recruitment of a school transport escort can take several weeks to put in place. This is the reason a school should submit their applications as soon as possible to the SENO to prevent delays in the application process.

In some cases, there may be a suitable school transport service already in operation in the area with seats available. These applications are processed immediately, and transport arrangements put in place with families at the earliest opportunity.

When a service becomes available, a member of Bus Éireann staff will contact the family member named on the application form to advise the start date of the service.

If there is a delay in setting up a service for an eligible child a Special Transport Interim Grant may be available to those families. The grant is based on the number of days a child attends school and is not paid in advance.

The interim grant is offered from the date of application to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements that the family put in place until a transport service is ready to start. Bus Éireann or the School Transport Section in the Department of Education will inform families how to avail of this grant.