asked the Minister for Education the reason 13 fare-paying students travelling to Rathlee national school, County Sligo, were denied this concession while the same bus travels to the school with sufficient space for them as in the past.
Written Answers. - County Sligo School Transport.
480.
The routes of special transport services are organised so as to cater for pupils who are eligible under the terms of the school transport scheme. Fare-paying facilities may be allowed to non-eligible pupils provided there is spare accommodation on the bus and no extra cost to the State is involved. The pupils in question here are ineligible under the terms of the school transport scheme, but availed themselves of school transport on an incidental and fare-paying basis. From September 1983, the economical routing of the school bus service to cater for eligible pupils was such that the bus no longer passed through the area where the pupils in question reside and accordingly they withdrew their applications for fare-paying transport. The children may still avail themselves of the service, but from a pick-up point on the new route which is much closer to Rathlee national school.
It is not open to my Department to incur expenditure in maintaining the previous route in order to cater for children who are ineligible under the terms of the school transport scheme.