Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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419. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department provides transportation funding for children with special education needs who have to travel to attend an early years education setting appropriate for their needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7629/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. this figure includes over 143,800 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 21,700 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.

The scheme is made up of three separate schemes, the school transport scheme for primary, post primary and for children with special educational needs. Transport is also provided for children who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine and those residing in IPAS/EROC centres.

The total expenditure on the scheme in 2024 was €512m.

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.

The National Council for Special Education acts in an advisory role to the Department of Education and Skills 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.

Schools can access further resources from the NCSE, including transport, if required. An application for transport may be submitted for a pupil in an Early Intervention ASD class and transport will be approved where the pupil has an ASD diagnosis and is attending the nearest Early Intervenion Class to their home resourced to meet their needs.

When the pupil moves out of the Early Intervention setting and into primary school - whether it be mainstream or special setting - a new application for transport must be submitted, which will again be assessed under the criteria of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs to the nearest special school/class at primary level from their home.