Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 14 Dec 1999

Vol. 512 No. 6

Adjournment Debate Matters. - School Transport.

Mr. Ring

I compliment the Minister of State with responsibility for this area for coming into the House to reply to this matter, given that it is late and Ministers with responsibility for areas do not always come into the House to respond to matters when they are raised.

I tabled a number of questions on this matter. I hope the Minister of State does not have the standard reply from Bus Éireann because I take exception to it. That reply states that it does not provide a service to the houses in question and that the road concerned is no more dangerous than any other road in the country. We are not seeking anything new. All we want is for the bus to collect the children at the original pick-up point. I ask the Minister of State, as Minister with responsibility for this area, to order Bus Éireann to collect children at the original bus point as there was not any reason to change it.

I take exception to the reference in the standard reply that the road concerned is no more dangerous than any other road in the country. It is not so long ago since a child was killed not far from that road and it is a dangerous stretch of road. It is wrong in 1999 that primary school children aged seven and ten should have to walk a third of a mile every morning to a bus pick-up point. Weatherwise, today was bad. We are in the middle of winter and these children have to leave home early in the morning and do not get back until late in the evening. They are not seeking anything new. They are not asking the Minister of State to provide a service that would incur any extra cost.

Why was the original pick-up point changed when there was not a reason to change it? I ask the Minister of State to instruct Bus Éireann to revert to the original pick-up point. The parents of these children are paying for the service and all they ask is that the original service be restored.

The Department should not change any existing pick-up points or runs until the Minister of State and the Department carry out a review of the transport infrastructure. If the Minister will not accede to my request, I will ask the Ombudsman to investigate this case because there was not a reason to change the pick-up point. The Garda in County Mayo were concerned during recent months about strange men travelling around in cars offering children sweets to entice them into their cars. It is dangerous and wrong that these children should have to walk to the new pick-up point.

It is almost Christmas week. I am not asking the Minister to be Santa Claus but to be fair. I ask him to telephone Bus Éireann tomorrow morning to request it to revert to the original pick-up point, which is no different from what it did two years ago. I hope the Minister of State can show that he is kind and understanding and that he is not willing to take that standard type answer from Bus Éireann when there was not any reason to change the original pick-up point. I ask him to be fair to these children and their families and ensure the bus reverts to stopping at the original pick-up point.

Mr. O'Dea

I thank Deputy Ring for raising this matter. It gives me the opportunity to outline the position on school transport for pupils from the Derrada, Partry, Claremorris area to Partry national school.

By way of general comment, I should explain some basic facts about the school transport scheme. Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, has a responsibility to ensure the safe delivery of approximately 156,000 primary and post-primary pupils to schools throughout the country. My Department has responsibility to ensure that the State gets the best possible value for the money spent on this service. It does not come cheap. In 1998, the net cost to the State was in excess of £40 million.

One of the main objects of the school transport scheme is to provide a basic level of service for children who live long distances from school and who might otherwise experience difficulty in attending regularly.

As a rule, primary school transport routes are planned so that any eligible child will not have more than 1.5 miles to travel to a pick-up point. Pupils living off the main route of a service are generally expected to make their own way or be brought to a convenient pick-up point along the route. Home pick-ups are not and were never intended to be a feature of the school transport scheme.

Safety is a priority in the operation of the school transport scheme. All routes are examined with regard to the suitability of the roads for the various types of vehicles used. Safe set-down, turning and pick-up points are carefully selected, always with safety in mind. In the planning of routes, road conditions, traffic hazards and all other aspects of safety are considered. Services are monitored and, if conditions deteriorate or dangers arise, they are revised to ensure safety.

My Department is required to ensure that the transport scheme is operated in the most effective and efficient way possible. School transport routes are organised on the basis of the number of eligible pupils offering for transport. This means that from time to time Bus Éireann is obliged to reorganise some transport services as the numbers increase or decrease.

Bus Éireann has advised that the route was changed because there was an insufficient number of eligible pupils residing in the area. Bus Éireann considers that the pick-up point on the Toreen Road is as safe as any other pick-up point throughout the country.

As this is considered to be a reasonable and adequate level of service in the context of the general operation of the scheme, the view in the Department is that it is the best we can offer. In view of what Deputy Ring said, I will reconsider it, check what Bus Éireann is saying and revert to the Deputy in writing.

Mr. Ring

I thank the Minister of State for that.

The Dáil adjourned at 11 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 December 1999.