Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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284. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will examine the operation of the school transport pilot scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49834/25]

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.

Under the current terms of the School Transport Schemes, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Eligible children who complete the application process and pay or enter their medical card details on time will get a seat on a school bus service, if a service is available.

Children who are not eligible for school transport but complete the application and pay or enter their medical card details on time will be considered for any spare seats available after eligible children have been accommodated. These spare seats are called concessionary seats, and are subject to the following conditions:

• an application is made by the deadline date
• there is an existing service in place
• there is spare capacity on the service;
• routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children travelling on a concessionary basis;
• no additional State cost will be incurred;

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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285. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the implementation of phase three of the Government’s 2024 school transport report, which recommends reducing distance eligibility criteria on mainstream schemes in stages to 2 kilometres for post-primary students from the 2025-26 school year, eliminating the nearest school rule, and maintaining existing routes with a requirement of at least ten students for new routes; if, in this context, she will confirm when the 2 km eligibility will be applied; if a school (details supplied) can be included in the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49835/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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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.

The scale of the scheme is significant, and any changes will take time to plan and implement.

It was outlined at the time of the review’s publication that it would be prudent to implement the scheme changes on a phased basis.

A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations began at the start of the 2024/2025 school year in conjunction with the Department of Transport and Bus Éireann . A total of 14 pilot projects took place in the 2024/2025 school year

It is intended to continue current pilots for the 2025/26 school year. They will be monitored during the year and evaluated in full at the end of the 2025/2026 school year. These pilots will 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. The findings from these evaluations will guide the planning and implementation needed for a national rollout of a revised School Transport Scheme.

The School Transport Section of the Department engage with Bus Éireann, to assess and identify where more School Transport pilot programmes may be successfully delivered. The Department has asked Bus Éireann to review where additional capacity may be available for concessionary pupils who paid on time and would become eligible if the revised school transport scheme criteria was rolled out in full. This is in order to pilot the revised scheme eligibility criteria in a small number of areas.

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.

It is not possible to roll out pilots in all areas. Bus Éireann has confirmed that there is already a route in place in the area mentioned by the Deputy. Currently there is one mainstream service which is a 53 seat vehicle operating to the school mentioned by the Deputy. Pupils in the area currently travel, within guidelines, to join the existing service. This service accommodates mainstream eligible pupils, TAMs pupils and mainstream concessionary pupils on board. It is not possible to extend the service due to time constraints as this service also operates a mainstream primary school transport service with the same vehicle. As advised above, under the school transport scheme, routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children travelling on a concessionary basis.

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