Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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314. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children in special schools in Cork who are sanctioned transport provision, but for whom a contract has not yet issued. [50238/25]

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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317. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when all children who need school transport in Cork will have access to same. [50241/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 317 together.

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.

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.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time (apply on time and pay on time) are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation and where there is capacity to do so.

Children who are not eligible but who apply for school transport are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.

Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places. In these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.

Over 148,000 mainstream tickets have issued to date for the 2025/26 school year, which is already almost 5% more than the total tickets issued for the full 2024/25 school year. Over 19,500 mainstream tickets have issued to date in respect of pupils attending schools in County Cork.

Unfortunately, difficulties have arisen in a number of locations, particularly in the east of the country, with a small number of contracted services, where it has not yet been possible to provide vehicles / drivers. Less than 0.5% of ticket holders on mainstream services nationwide have been affected. This number continues to decrease as services are put in place on a daily basis.

These difficulties have arisen in some cases due to lack of driver or contractor availability, or where either zero bids were received for a service, despite repeated efforts to procure one. The Bus Éireann School Transport team is working intensively to ensure that transport arrangements are put in place as soon as possible.

Both the Department and Bus Éireann are very conscious of the challenges faced by parents awaiting transport for children with special educational needs. Families of children who are eligible for these services may therefore receive an interim Special Transport Grant (STG). This is a once off payment, paid retrospectively to families once the School Transport service is in place and is intended to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements the family had put in place until the service starts.

An Exceptional Interim Grant (EIG) will be offered to families affected by the delays in the commencement of their mainstream service. Affected families do not need to apply for these grants and will be contacted directly by School Transport Section with more details.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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315. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children who previously had a contract for school transport in Cork for whom a contract is no longer available. [50239/25]

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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316. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of school transport contracts not renewed this year. [50240/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 315 and 316 together.

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth.

Over 148,000 mainstream tickets have issued to date for the 2025/26 school year, which is already almost 5% more than the total tickets issued for the full 2024/25 school year. Over 19,500 tickets mainstream tickets have issued to date in respect of pupils who attend schools in County Cork.

Unfortunately, difficulties have arisen in a number of locations, particularly in the east of the country, with a small number of ,contracted services, where it has not yet been possible to provide vehicles / drivers. Less than 0.5% of ticket holders on mainstream services nationwide have been affected. This number continues to decrease as services are put in place on a daily basis.

Bus Éireann has also reported that difficulties have arisen in some localities with a small number of contracted services for a small number of families assigned to Special Educational Needs transport services. In some cases, these services were secured for the 2025/26 school year. Due to reported driver/contractor unavailability at short notice, services could not commence as expected. In other cases, zero bids were received for a service, despite repeated efforts to procure one.

Transport challenges for SEN services are concentrated in some parts of the country, particularly Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kildare and Meath.

The Bus Éireann School Transport team is working intensively to ensure that transport arrangements are put in place as soon as possible and contractors are being appointed on an ongoing basis to cover these routes. Bus Éireann is engaging with families where transport was sanctioned and where there may be delays in securing a new service.

Both the Department and Bus Éireann are very conscious of the challenges faced by parents awaiting transport for children with special educational needs. Families of children who are eligible for these services may therefore receive an interim Special Transport Grant (STG). This is a once off payment, paid retrospectively to families once the School Transport service is in place and is intended to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements the family had put in place until the service starts.

An Exceptional Interim Grant (EIG) will be offered to families affected by the delays in the commencement of their mainstream service. Affected families do not need to apply for these grants and will be contacted directly by School Transport Section with more details.