asked the Minister for Education if he will arrange that free or cheap bus fares for schoolchildren to city schools will be provided, pending the erection of new schools, for the children of tenants removed from the centre of the City of Dublin to outlying districts through the housing activities of the Dublin Corporation, and if he will take immediate action in the matter in view of the fact that in many cases tenants in the new houses have to pay as much as one shilling per day for their children's travelling expenses to the city schools, which is an added and unexpected burden on their weekly expenses and is now causing hardships.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Schoolchildren's Bus Fares.
Mr. Byrne
A scheme has been in operation for some time under which about 1,500 children from the Ballyfermot area are being conveyed by buses to schools in the city pending the completion of the new schools which are being provided in that area. The charge for each child conveyed is three half-pence per day.
Representations have been made to my Department for the establishment of a service on similar lines for children who have recently moved into the new housing area at Finglas. I am having the matter investigated at present with a view to seeing whether it will be possible to make similar arrangements for these children.
Mr. Byrne
Would the Minister not think it advisable to recommend to his Department and the other authorities concerned that when a housing scheme is contemplated arrangements should be made for the building of the school at the same time as the houses in order to have it ready for the children when the tenants move in?
That is a separate question.