Vol. 509 No. 1
342 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to reports that some buses carrying school children on scheduled bus services or buses specifically operating to transport school children are seriously overcrowded; the insurance implications involved in the case of an accident; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19592/99]
Bus Éireann operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department and is responsible for the safety standards on school buses. The loading on all school buses is determined by the relevant sections of the Road Traffic Regulations (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) which are laid down by the Department of the Environment. Bus Éireann complies with these regulations and all other relevant safety legislation.
All vehicles engaged in school transport are required to be fully insured and checking procedures are in place to ensure that this is the case. Under the Public Service Vehicle Regulations the licensed carrying capacity of all vehicles engaged in school transport is based on ratio of three pupils for every two adult seats. It should be noted, however, that school buses generally only operate with a full complement of pupils for approximately the last 15 minutes on morning services and the first 15 minutes on afternoon services.
Bus Éireann has an excellent safety record in operating the school transport scheme. It places special emphasis on safety and, to this end, has a wide range of checking procedures in place to ensure a safe and reliable service. These checking procedures are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that standards are maintained.
343 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Science his views regarding the deteriorating condition of the school bus fleet due to lack of adequate funding in view of the fact that there has been no increase in payment to the operators in the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19593/99]
Bus Éireann operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department and is responsible for the safe conditions of the vehicles in use.
Bus Éireann has a wide range of checking procedures in place to ensure a safe and reliable service. All school transport vehicles, whether operated by Bus Éireann or private contractors on behalf of Bus Éireann, are required to pass annually a Department of the Environment roadworthiness test and therefore comply with the necessary European public service vehicle standards. These vehicles are also subjected to additional regular inspection to ensure that their reliability is maintained throughout the school year.
Vehicles engaged in school transport generally operate in the range of 13,000 to 15,000 miles per annum based on working over a 38 week school year. Work involving such low utilisation of vehicles is generally most appropriate to well maintained second-hand vehicles. Bus Éireann continues to implement a programme of introduction of good quality second hand buses to the school transport fleet. This ensures that the overall standard of vehicles is constantly improving.
Contracts for the operation of the school transport services are negotiated between Bus Éireann and the individual contractors and renewed annually. This year all contracts were successfully negotiated and filled and a reasonable rate of pay was offered for the current school year. I am aware that there has been no increase in the rates of payment to contractors since September 1994. However, there are no additional resources available at present to make improvements in this area.
344 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the bus from Cliffoney, County Sligo, to Bundoran and Ballyshannon post primary schools is seriously overcrowded with up to 80 students using it daily; if a second bus will be made available to alleviate the overcrowding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19607/99]
I wish to advise the Deputy that the pupils concerned mainly reside in the Grange, County Sligo school catchment area and are eligible for catchment boundary transport only to the Bundoran and Ballyshannon post primary schools.
