Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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503. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the distance to be eligible for the school transport scheme will be reduced to 2 km; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29075/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, 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 and Youth.

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 School Transport 2030 report was published in early 2024 following a comprehensive analysis and review of the scheme as it currently operates. The recommended changes to the future operation of the schemes include expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money to the Exchequer. It is proposed to expand access to the scheme so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030.

A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations began at the start of the 2024/2025 school year where the Department began testing the feasibility of a number of approaches through a series of pilot programmes; these pilot programmes are held in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, the Department of Transport and Bus Éireann.

A total of 14 pilot projects are underway in the current school year. These pilots are being evaluated to provide valuable insights into the impact of increased demand on the scheme, the potential for integrating public transport with school transport services, and opportunities to promote more sustainable modes of transport.

It is intended to continue current pilots for the upcoming school year. They will be monitored during the year and a further evaluation will take place at the end of the 2025/2026 school year. The findings from these evaluations will guide the planning and implementation needed for a national rollout of a revised School Transport Scheme.

Work is also underway to identify where further pilot programmes may be conducted. A number of approaches are being examined including the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify how many additional children would become eligible and where they are located. A digital mapping project of all existing school bus routes has been developed and there is ongoing collaboration with the Department of Transport, Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority in regard to planned expansion of public transport routes to explore where integration may be possible.

Implementation of the recommendations of the review will continue to be planned subject to resources being available to meet the increased demand.

The current eligibility is as follows:

Primary school: Children are eligible if they live 3.2 km or more from their nearest national school.

Post-primary school: Children are eligible if they live 4.8 km or more from their nearest post-primary school or education centre.

Distance is measured by Bus Éireann. The rules also take into account the language and ethos of the school.

If a child is eligible and the family applies and pays on time, they will be given a place on the school bus if:

• A service is running in their area
• There is space available

However, because eligible children are given priority, there may not be enough spare seats for everyone who applies. In these cases, Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.

Temporary Alleviation measures will continue for 2025/2026 which means if a child is eligible for transport to their nearest school, but is going to their second nearest school, they may still get transport if a service is running and there is space on that service, and they apply and pay on time.