Vol. 396 No. 8
48 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Education the reason persons (details supplied) in County Meath have been deprived of school transport to Skryne national school from the Dunsany area for the past month having regard to the fact that the contract for the bus route specified a 26 seater bus to be used and the contractor is currently using a 16 seater; and if she will instruct CIE to restore transport to the families concerned.
The Deputy is understood to be referring in the main to persons in County Meath who are basically ineligible for school transport service and have failed to be accommodated under an arrangement whereby, on an existing service, concessionary fare paying passengers may be accepted on a first come first served basis.
The capacity of the vehicle used in the service referred to is 21 children, and I understand that a number of children who applied for fare paying concessionary places could not be accommodated. The service is currently under review, with the possibility of its being discontinued altogether, because the number of children eligible for free transport has fallen. Among that eligible number are three from one of the families in which the Deputy is interested. There is a fourth member of that family who is ineligible for free transport, and who under existing arrangements probably could not have been accommodated had he applied for the spring term.
I should explain that the number of ineligible children wishing to avail of a service cannot be a factor either in determining the capacity of the vehicle to be used to serve a particular centre, or whether the service should continue.
