Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 7 Mar 2000

Vol. 515 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - School Transport.

Mr. Stanton

I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this issue on behalf of the 600 students of Coláiste Eoin and the CBS secondary school, Youghal, County Cork. As I am sure the Minister of State is aware I have raised it on a number of occasions by way of parliamentary question. I understand the constraints under which he has been working but in the current economic climate I urge him to consider the situation again. When I visited the school recently I was presented with a petition by one of the students asking me to intervene with the Minister and the Department of Education and Science to have the decision changed.

Up to 1995 students were dropped off each morning and picked up each evening at a central point from where they had to walk more than half a mile up a very steep hill carrying heavy schoolbags – another issue at which the Minister of State might look – as well as sports gear such as hurleys and coats, to attend school, very often in very wet weather. Thankfully a decision was made to drop them at the school in the morning. The problem is that on leaving school in the evening they have to travel more than half a mile back down a very steep hill to the pick-up point which is situated on one of the busiest roads in the country, the N25, where they mingle with up to 500 other students from the Loreto secondary school.

This is a tragedy waiting to happen. We all know what youngsters can get up to when they get together. There is messing and fooling. My fear and that of parents and teachers is that at some stage a student will be pushed out on to the main road and killed. I implore the Minister of State therefore to look at the matter again and to make funds available – I am informed that it would cost about £2,000 a year or £12 a day, which is not a huge amount of money – to enable the students to be picked up outside the school. This is vitally important for safety reasons. It is also important for health reasons, because the hill to which I refer is quite steep and if one of those students should fall or stumble going down that hill, he or she could be seriously injured. The parents and teachers are very concerned about this.

I am told there is a danger that a precedent might be set, but there is no other town like this. I would ask the Minister to intervene with the Department. Bus Éireann has no problem in providing the service. In fact, it is anxious to do so because it is aware of the difficulties and the dangers.

I speak on behalf of almost 1,000 students in Youghal. I ask the Minister to indicate that he will at least look favourably on the request I am making on their behalf. I look forward to the Minister's reply.

Mr. O'Dea

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter since it affords me the opportunity of outlining to the House the position regarding school transport to the Youghal, County Cork, post-primary schools. 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.

Bus Éireann, which operates the scheme on behalf of my Department, ensures that 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. School bus routes are monitored on a regular basis by Bus Éireann and if conditions deteriorate or dangers arise, services are revised to ensure safety.

In many towns, where there are a number of post-primary schools, pupils are dropped off and collected at a central point in the town, and are expected to make their own way to and from their respective schools. The position in Youghal is that up to 1995, pupils were dropped off and collected at a central point outside the Loreto Convent each morning and afternoon, and made their own way to and from their respective schools.

In 1995, it was decided by my Department, as an exceptional matter, to extend the services in the morning to the CBS and Coláiste Eoin as the pupils had to make their way up a steep hill to get to their respective schools. Buses continued to collect pupils at the central point near Loreto Convent in the afternoons and this remains the position.

The distance from CBS and Coláiste Eoin to Loreto Convent is 0.8 miles, and 0.7 miles taking the shortest route via Windmill Hill. Windmill Hill is a steep public road, but is not considered to be any less safe than similar roads used by pupils throughout the country. The shortest walking route is via Bushy Lane, which is a steep path with a very rough surface and is not considered suitable for walking. The distance between the CBS and Coláiste Eoin and Loreto Convent via Bushy Lane is 0.4 miles.

To apply the terms of the school transport scheme in a fair and consistent manner, it would not be open to my Department to extend school services to the CBS and Coláiste Eoin schools in the afternoon. To extend a service in such circumstances, where significant extra cost is involved, would set a precedent, for which I simply do not have resources within the allocation made to me for school transport.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.04 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 8 March 2000.