Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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185. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will consider the establishment of a dedicated school transport service that picks up students in Ballyboughal village (details supplied). [38662/24]

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 purpose of my 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.

Under the terms of the School Transport Schemes, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kms from and are attending their nearest national school. At post primary level, they are eligible where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre. Distance is determined by the Department/Bus Éireann and rules have regard to ethos and language.

Parents of children wishing to avail of school transport services are required to apply on-line to Bus Éireann’s website at buseireann.ie/schooltransport.

The closing date for new applications for the school year 2024/25 was 26 April 2024 and the closing date for payment was 07 June 2024.

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 complete the application process on time (apply on time and pay on time) are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation and where there is capacity to do so.

Children who are not eligible but who apply for school transport are 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 (TAMS) at post primary level are continued for the current school year. Under these measures, transport will be provided where there is a route in operation and where capacity exists for concessionary post primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school, are attending their second nearest school and who applied and paid on time.

Bus Éireann has advised that pupils home addresses in the area in question would determine their eligibility to the school reference by the Deputy. In general pupils residing in this area are not eligible for transport as they reside nearer to another post primary centre.

Bus Éireann has also confirmed that currently there is one mainstream service which is a 53 seat vehicle operating to the school in question and the nearest pickup point is approximately 3.6 km from where these pupils reside. This service accommodates Mainstream eligible pupils, Temporary Alleviation pupils and mainstream concessionary pupils on board. It is not possible to extend the service any closer to the area in question due to time constraints as this service also operates a mainstream primary school transport service with the same vehicle.

The Bus Éireann Local Area Inspector has reviewed the existing pickup point and has deemed this pickup point as safe. Regarding the existing pickup point, the road is not considered to be any more dangerous than other approach roads to pickup points in use throughout the country. There is an onus of responsibility on parents/guardians to arrange to bring their children to and from the pickup point of a school bus service, taking whatever safety precautions they consider sufficient in doing so, and accompanying the children to ensure their safety and allay any concern, if necessary.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport will be accommodated for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38664/24]

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 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.

Under the terms of the School Transport Schemes, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kms from and are attending their nearest national school. At post primary level, they are eligible where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre. Distance is determined by the Department/Bus Éireann and rules have 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 may apply for transport on a concessionary basis in accordance with the terms of the Post Primary School Transport Scheme and subject to a number of conditions:

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. Where the number of applications for transport on a concessionary basis exceeds the number of seats available, Bus Éireann will determine the allocation of the tickets using an agreed selection process.

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is not eligible for school transport as they are attending their fifth nearest post primary centre.

Bus Éireann further advise they were unsuccessful in obtaining a concessionary school transport ticket for the 2024/25 school year, and services in the area are full to capacity.