asked the Minister for Education if his Department will restore fare-paying transport to children in the Athfinley area to Carrick-on-Shannon national school, County Leitrim; and if not, the reason this facility has been withdrawn.
Written Answers. - County Leitrim School Transport.
602.
Fare-paying facilities on special services to national schools may be allowed to pupils who are ineligible for free transport, provided spare accommodation is available when all the eligible pupils have been catered for. In the case of the special service from the Jamestown closed school area to the schools in Carrick-on-Shannon, it was necessary to operate a double trip of a minibus in the school year 1980-81 in order to accommodate all the eligible pupils and residual accommodation was available which enabled pupils who were ineligible for free school transport to avail of fare-paying facilities. In the current school year, it is possible to carry all the eligible pupils in a single trip and it is not possible at present to accommodate any fare-paying pupils on the service.