Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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691.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on students being asked to take public transport options that will leave them arriving at school before the buildings are opened (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.[35784/24]

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 140000 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.

As the Deputy is aware, for the 2024/2025 school year, a pilot project is being conducted along the existing public transport Route 343 on the Limerick-Shannon-Ennis corridor with a view to assessing the benefits of integrating school and public transport for post-primary students. The 343 corridor was chosen because it is an established public transport corridor operating from Limerick/Shannon to Ennis, it had already been earmarked by the National Transport Authority for improved bus services and there are a number of post-primary schools on the route.

In recent weeks, my Department has engaged with parental representatives, school principals and political representatives in the pilot area to discuss a number of issues that have been raised and we will continue to do so as the pilot implementation continues.

Under the pilot scheme, the new eligibility criteria recommended in the school transport review are being applied, which will increase the number of pupils who will qualify for school transport scheme in the area.

• the distance that children must live from their school of attendance has been reduced from 4.8km to 2km

• the "nearest school rule" has been removed, which broadens the range of schools that children can attend using the school transport scheme.

Another advantage is that children in the pilot project will be able to travel on public buses on Route 343 on the Limerick-Shannon-Ennis corridor outside of normal school times. This means that children participating in after-school activities, for example, will be able to get a bus home rather than relying on a parent to collect them. This will be possible because children will be issued with a Leap card which they will use to validate against a ticket reader when getting on the bus. The issued Leap card will be used by the child on the transport service that they are assigned to during normal school days and times. The Leap card can also be used on other public transport services outside of normal school times provided the Leap card is first topped up with travel credit.

I can reassure you that officials in the School Transport Section of my Department, along with Bus Éireann and the NTA, will assess this pilot closely over the coming weeks and all issues that have been raised by families are being assessed. I wish to assure you that the safety of children travelling to school on these services is a priority for the Department and Bus Éireann. We will continue to engage with the local community over the coming weeks as the pilot is rolled out.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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692.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the failure of the roll out of the pilot school transport scheme in County Clare, the fact that parents are now avoiding the service and that it is disincentivising rural people from using the bus; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[35785/24]

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 140000 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.

As the Deputy is aware, for the 2024/2025 school year, a pilot project is being conducted along the existing public transport Route 343 on the Limerick-Shannon-Ennis corridor with a view to assessing the benefits of integrating school and public transport for post-primary students. The 343 corridor was chosen because it is an established public transport corridor operating from Limerick/Shannon to Ennis, it had already been earmarked by the National Transport Authority for improved bus services and there are a number of post-primary schools on the route.

In recent weeks, my Department has engaged with parental representatives, school principals and political representatives in the pilot area to discuss a number of issues that have been raised and we will continue to do so as the pilot implementation continues.

Under the pilot scheme, the new eligibility criteria recommended in the school transport review are being applied, which will increase the number of pupils who will qualify for school transport scheme in the area.

• the distance that children must live from their school of attendance has been reduced from 4.8km to 2km

• the "nearest school rule" has been removed, which broadens the range of schools that children can attend using the school transport scheme.

Another advantage is that children in the pilot project will be able to travel on public buses on Route 343 on the Limerick-Shannon-Ennis corridor outside of normal school times. This means that children participating in after-school activities, for example, will be able to get a bus home rather than relying on a parent to collect them. This will be possible because children will be issued with a Leap card which they will use to validate against a ticket reader when getting on the bus. The issued Leap card will be used by the child on the transport service that they are assigned to during normal school days and times. The Leap card can also be used on other public transport services outside of normal school times provided the Leap card is first topped up with travel credit.

I can reassure you that officials in the School Transport Section of my Department, along with Bus Éireann and the NTA, will assess this pilot closely over the coming weeks and all issues that have been raised by families are being assessed. I wish to assure you that the safety of children travelling to school on these services is a priority for the Department and Bus Éireann. We will continue to engage with the local community over the coming weeks as the pilot is rolled out.