Vol. 457 No. 4
138 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the difficulties being confronted by parents of a mildly handicapped child (details supplied) in County Cork in arranging for their child to attend the special class in Bantry, a distance of over 20 miles; the action, if any, she plans to provide transport for the child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15438/95]
I am aware of the difficulties to which the Deputy refers. My Department provides school transport for children attending special schools and classes on either scheduled or special services. However, in some cases, this is not feasible due to particular circumstances such as excessive cost, too long a distance, or the inability of a child to avail of the service because of the nature of the disability. In such cases, my Department offers a grant to the parents to help defray the cost of private transport arrangements. The amount payable depends on the distance involved and the level of attendance of the pupil.
Unfortunately it is not possible, at present, to facilitate the pupil in question with a transport service because of the severe inconvenience such an extension would cause to pupils on the existing service. However, I have requested my Department's transport agents, Bus Éireann, to investigate whether the existing service could be restructured in order to facilitate this particular child and minimise the inconvenience to the other children on the route. In the meantime, my Department has sanctioned an annual transport grant to the parents of the child in question.
