Vol. 297 No. 3
asked the Minister for Education if he will make an up-to-date statement on the availability of grants for schoolgoers towards the purchase of bicycles; and if he will indicate the number and cash contribution of such grants in the last financial year.
33.
asked the Minister for Education whether there is a demand for grants towards the cost of bicycles from school children who are eligible for school transport.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 33 together. The Department are empowered to pay grants towards the cost of the purchase of bicycles in individual cases where the following conditions are meet:—
1. the children are living in isolated areas where the nearest national school is a considerable distance away;
2. it is not possible or else would be too costly to offer alternative transport facilities; and
3. the situation is one in which genuine hardship exists.
No grants were paid during the last financial year. A number of applications for such grants are at present being considered.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary telling me now that a number of applications have been received and considered but apparently all have been rejected?
I do not think the Deputy was listening to the reply. I said that no grants were paid during the last financial year. A number of applications for such grants are at present being considered.
When I asked a question of this nature before, as far as I recollect, the Parliamentary Secretary told me that something like 80 applications a day were being considered. Has the Parliamentary Secretary any indication of that?
I have not got a breakdown of the 80, the figure quoted by the Deputy. I can tell him however that since January, 1976, a total of 116 applications were received. Of these only 13 came from children attending primary schools who were basically eligible for free transport under the terms of the scheme. The others came from people who could not be considered at all under the terms of the scheme, such as children attending post-primary schools or children who were basically ineligible for transport to primary schools. Of the 13 in question replies have issued in the case of ten. In those cases it was found that in most cases they did not meet the criterion of living in isolated areas where the nearest school was a considerable distance away. They were probably just over the distance necessary to be eligible but were not of a sufficient degree of remoteness to be considered eligible for this scheme. There are a further three cases of the 13 I mentioned in respect of whom a reply is outstanding. I expect to be able to issue replies in those three cases soon.
Surely the Parliamentary Secretary will have to agree with me that there is something seriously lacking in communication from the Department of Education if only three applications might be considered and some others were vaguely considered out of a total number of 116? Earlier on I asked if the Parliamentary Secretary or the Minister would publicise this scheme. I was given the reply: "I am sure, as a result of those Dáil questions, that the scheme will become well known." Are the terms of this scheme circulated to the local people who look after the school transport scheme?
It was made quite clear at the time in the reply that it did not apply to post-primary applications or to children who were basically ineligible for free transport in the normal way. There is nothing the Department can do if people who are ineligible for this write in seeking it. The question of publicising its terms still further is one which would need to be considered in the context of the issue of the annual circular in relation to school transport. I will bear in mind bringing to general notice the specific criteria which were outlined in my original reply.
I am glad the Parliamentary Secretary became somewhat positive in the latter part of his reply. Surely he now wishes to withdraw the very negative approach in the earlier part of his answer?
There was no negative approach. I was merely stating the facts.
It was extremely negative.
Order.
Surely when we have other Departments claiming that the public have a right to know and have laid the obligation on the State to make those rights well known to the public, it is clear the Department of Education are not doing so in this case?
I am getting on to other business now.
Am I to take it from the Parliamentary Secretary's reply he is satisfied that only three pupils in the country might be considered to be in an isolated area from the point of view of getting to a national school? Is the Parliamentary Secretary satisfied that everybody else has transport facilities, that there are only three people in an isolated area to whom no grants have been paid over the last 12 months?
No.
Does "no" mean that the Parliamentary Secretary agrees with me?
It is "no" to the question posed by the Deputy. There are others who may not have applied.
The remaining questions will appear on the Order Paper for the next sitting day of the Dáil.
