Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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842. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of all services, grants, loans and payments available to individuals or households funded by her Department and agencies under her remit; the eligibility requirements and any conditionality for receiving the service, grant, loan or payment (details supplied); and the monetary value, or range of values, of the service, grant, loans or payment, where applicable. [19169/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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There are a small number of grants available to individual households which are issued by the Department of Education. The details of these grants are below.

Remote Area Boarding Grant

The purpose of the Remote Area Boarding Grant scheme is to give students who are disadvantaged because of their remoteness from schools an opportunity to attend school on the same basis as students not so disadvantaged. The terms of this scheme are set out in The maximum grant payable under the scheme may not exceed € 4,947 per pupil per annum.

Under the terms of the scheme, a second-level school is a school which is recognised by the Department for the purpose of providing the prescribed certificate courses, which enters its students for the State examinations and is subject to inspection by the Department. As per the circular above, the pupil must be resident 4.8 km or more from a second-level school where suitable free second-level education is available, more than 3.2 km from a pick-up point on a transport service to such a school and must provide written confirmation of being unable to obtain a place in a suitable second-level school within 25 km of his/her normal place of residence.

Pupils resident on off shore islands that do not have a school providing suitable free second level education may also qualify for assistance under the scheme. For pupils requiring an Irish medium education the outlined criteria will be applied to the nearest second level school providing instruction through Irish. The curriculum choices provided by a school (including the provision or otherwise of transition year) within 25 km of the applicant’s normal place of residence will not be a factor in the determination of eligibility for the award of a grant.

School Transport - Grants available to families

Remote Area Grant

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.

An eligible child for whom no transport service is available may, following an application for transport within prescribed time limits, receive a Remote Area Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements. This grant is also payable for eligible children who may have to travel 3.2 kms or more to or from a designated pick up/set down point.

Grants are based on the distance from home to school and in the past 3 years ranged from €1.30 per day to the maximum daily allowance payable of €5.10 per day per family.

Further information on Remote Area Grant can be found on

Exceptional No Service Interim Grant

An Exceptional No Service Interim Grant is payable to pupils where Bus Éireann issue tickets for mainstream services for the start of the school year but difficulties have arisen in putting those services in place. This payment is made as an exceptional measure and is based on the number of days a child attends school up until the time a service has commenced toward the cost of private transportation. The grant is paid at a rate of €5 per day.

Special Transport Grant and Interim Special Transport Grant

In relation to the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, a parent/guardian may avail of a Special Transport Grant (STG) for a child with special educational needs. A school transport application under the scheme must have been made before a Special Transport Grant (STG) can be considered.

Where the provision of a reasonable level of transport service is not possible, Special Transport Grant (STG) towards the cost of private transport arrangements may be provided by the department on the basis outlined below:

• Bus Éireann is not in a position to arrange a reasonable level of service for the child
• the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) by reference to relevant professional reports or through information supplied by the relevant school authority, is satisfied that the nature of the child’s disability is such that he or she would be unable to avail of a time-tabled school bus service which picks up other children along the route

This grant is a once off payment. The interim grant is offered from the date of application to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements the family had put in place until a transport service is ready to commence.

With effect from the start of the 2024/2025 school year the rate of the Special Transport Grant has increased as recommended in the review of the school transport scheme, the rate is now 41.80 cent for the first 6,437 kilometres travelled and 31.78 cent per kilometre for each kilometre travelled thereafter.

The Special Transport Grant is sanctioned from the date of application. Retrospective payments are not a feature of the Special Transport Grant.

Grants are subject to periodic review and may be varied or withdrawn where circumstances change.

Further details of school transport grants are available at: www.gov.ie/