Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 October 2022
85. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education the position regarding the review of school transport places following the additional funding provided in Budget 2023; the timeline for its completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49758/22]
View answer91. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on the projected timelines for resolution of the school transport crisis which has left thousands of concessionary students stranded without transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49476/22]
View answer105. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Education if all children who had concessionary tickets for bus transport in 2021 are included in the 2022 scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49708/22]
View answer107. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Education the way in which she proposes to use the additional funding for school transport allocated in Budget 2023 to ensure that students who previously would have had access to a discretionary school bus ticket are catered for in the free school transport scheme as soon as possible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49861/22]
View answer117. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education the number of extra students who will be provided with free school transport on foot of the recent Budget 2023 allocation for school transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49868/22]
View answer122. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education if all applicants for school bus places have been provided with seats by now; if not, the number of children per county who have applied for a seat and have yet to get one; when they can expect to get one; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49866/22]
View answer141. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on school transport especially for children who previously had a seat on the school bus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49859/22]
View answer145. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education the number of students who applied for free school transport in 2022; the number of these applications received from late applicants; the number of these applications received from concessionary pupils; the total number of students who have now been provided with a service; the process in place now to allocate further tickets based on the Budget 2023 announcement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49867/22]
View answer419. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education the status of the roll-out of the promised temporary additional capacity on the school transport scheme given the additional funding approved for the scheme under Budget 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49908/22]
View answer421. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Education the progress that has been made by Bus Éireann as it works to increase the number of school buses and drivers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46275/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 85, 91, 105, 107, 117, 122, 141, 145, 419 and 421 together.
The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.
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.
In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the 2022/2023 school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.
School Transport ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.
Already over 125,000 tickets have issued for the 2022/2023 school year. At the start of the last school year, there were circa 103,600 children carried on mainstream school transport services so already in the region of 21,400 additional places have been created, a 20% overall increase. There has been an increase of 18% to date in the number of tickets issued to eligible pupils and an increase of 27% to date on the number of tickets issued to concessionary pupils, compared to the start of the 2021/2022 school year.
Bus Éireann will continue to process applications and to issue tickets as soon as extra buses and drivers are sourced and become available to provide transport for the higher numbers qualifying for the service. However, regrettably the unprecedented numbers of new applications for the current school year, has led to some delays in issuing tickets.
The normal eligibility criteria of the scheme still apply and tickets continue to be allocated in line with this criteria. Pupils at primary level are eligible where they live no less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school. At post primary level, students who live no less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre are deemed eligible.
Any pupils/students who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, or otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.
In line with normal practice, all eligible children who completed the application and ticket registration process on time for the 2022/2023 school year will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
In addition, pending completion of the outcome of the full review of the School Transport Scheme, Temporary Alleviation Measures at post-primary level will be continued for the 2022/2023 school year. Under these measures, which were initially introduced in 2019, transport will provided for post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school and who applied by the 29th April and registered for a ticket by the 29th July.
It is very important for families to note that the application deadline for 2022/23 was 29 April 2022, and that the deadline to confirm registration for tickets was 29 July 2022. Any application completed after this date is a ‘late application’ and therefore, many school transport services are already operating at full capacity. Late applications will only be assessed after all “on time” applications have been processed and there can be no guarantee of places for late applicants.
The School Transport Scheme is a demand led scheme, as numbers are still being finalised for the 2022/23 school year, it is not possible to provide specific information until all applications have been processed. Bus Éireann continue to process a small number of remaining on time applications, where additional services may need to be put in place for eligible children, any capacity on these services will be offered to concessionary applicants.
Following discussions with Minister McGrath and officials in DPER as part of the budgetary process some additional funding has been approved for the scheme which will allow officials in consultation with Bus Éireann to consider and evaluate where temporary additional capacity may be available.
The initial focus will be where families applied on time and who previously held concessionary tickets, to alleviate the impact of the increased demands on the scheme for those families. However, it is important to stress that this is subject to capacity considerations. Constraints in sourcing vehicles and drivers in certain areas of the country may also mean that it may take a number of weeks to explore solutions for additional capacity.
