Vol. 504 No. 7
357 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason bus passes have not been issued to the three children (details supplied) in County Cork who are attending Gaelscoil Cloch na gCoillte and whose parents have to drive 30 miles a day to get them to and from school and who have been refused a remote area grant toward the cost of this private transport arrangement; and the compensation, if any, available to them towards this expense. [12708/99]
A transport service was established to Gaelscoil Cloch na gCoillte with effect from September 1998. The children to whom the Deputy refers reside 8.5 miles from the gaelscoil and are eligible for free transport should they wish to avail of the service, which operates within 2.2 miles of their home.
My Department may only sanction payment of a remote area grant where pupils reside at least three miles from their nearest suitable school, and from transport services to that school. As the distance from this family's home to the pick-up point is less than three miles, I regret that it would not be open to my Department to sanction a remote area grant or offer compensation as requested.
