Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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216. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details of any additional funding provided to the school transport scheme in Budget 2025; and the level of funding provided for additional services as opposed to the continued funding of existing services. [40239/24]

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.

In relation to the query raised by the Deputy I can confirm that additional funding is being allocated to school transport scheme. This is to provide for the additional demand for pupils with special education needs on school transport services and increased bus contractor running costs. This also includes Cost of Living funding agreed as part of Budget 2025 of €58m that allows for the continuation of the reduced school transport fees for the 2025/26 school year.

Arising from recommendations of the review of the School Transport Scheme, and with effect from the start of the 2024/2025 school year, the rate of the Special Transport Grant is being increased. The special transport grant is paid to families to support them with the cost of transport arrangements in certain circumstances.

Funding is also being provided for a number of pilot projects to trial implementing the recommendations of the review. These pilots will provide a valuable insight into what is required for a national roll-out of a revised scheme.

It is worth noting that primary school transport fees, for the third year in a row, remain significantly reduced from previous levels. The annual primary ticket charge is €50 per pupil with a family cap of €125, reduced from a previous fee of €100 per child and a family cap at primary level of €220.

The scheme operates at a significant cost to the State, costing €382m in 2023. The annual estimated cost to provide transport for child on the primary transport scheme is €1,200 per child per annum, while the annual ticket cost is €50 per child per annum. The service is therefore heavily subsidised by the State.