Vol. 518 No. 4
23 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Science when he will make a decision on implementing in full the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Education and Science report on school transport in view of his recent announcement to implement some of the recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11752/00]
The report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science on school transport in Ireland was received in my Department last November. The report deals with a broad range of transport issues and contains many recommendations for changes to the school transport system. Some of these recommendations contain major implications relating to funding.
The school transport section of my Department is carrying out an ongoing assessment, including costings, of the various recommendations. Some improvements have been announced in relation to areas where assessments have been completed. These include extended eligibility for pupils where bullying is proven or the nearest school building is physically unsuitable. In addition, school buses will be required to carry communication systems and guidelines will be issued to schools where buses are hired outside of the school transport system. Further announcements will be made as assessment of other recommendations is completed.
Last February when the Minister issued the statement, he said a departmental committee is making a report on the review of catchment areas. When will that report be completed?
He also stated that he would receive legal advice on the regulation of school buses, which are currently outside the school transport scheme. Has he received that legal advice, and what decision has he taken on it?
Has the Minister sought legal advice on the issue of insurance for children awaiting buses? Children are not covered by the school insurance once they leave the school grounds and are covered by Bus Éireann's insurance once they get on the school bus, but in the intervening period there is no insurance cover and nobody takes responsibility. Has he looked into that issue?
As the Deputy will be aware, the catchment boundaries are a large complex issue but I have given instructions for a committee to be established to look at the catchment boundaries in view of the changes in demography. I have no idea how long the committee will take to report as it is a big job, but I asked it to do so as quickly as possible. I am afraid the Deputy must be satisfied with that for the moment.
We have received legal advice on the matter of people who privately hire buses. It is, as I anticipated the last day on Question Time, that the Department has no function in the area. It goes so far as to tell us that we do not have any legal authority to board those buses or to examine them. The legal advice is that they are entirely outside our remit.
To the best of my recollection, there is some legal opinion on the liability for children awaiting buses. Some time ago the Department commissioned legal opinion on that. Unfortunately, as Deputy Naughten will be aware, the law is not an exact science and my understanding is that at least one, if not more, of the teaching organisations have commissioned legal advice, which is precisely contrary to the legal advice received by the Department. That is the current state of play on that.
The Minister did not answer my question on that legal advice. What was the recommendation contained therein?
On the other reply of the Minister of State that the schools buses are outside the system, he stated that it is outside his remit. Is it not the case that if it is outside his remit, it is within the remit of the Department of the Environment and Local Government? What discussions has the Minister of State or his officials had with the Department of the Environment and Local Government on school bus safety?
I do not know if it is within the remit of the Department of the Environment and Local Government. It is a private arrangement between groups of parents and people who supply buses for hire. It is not necessarily within the remit of any Department. It is only within the remit of the Department of the Environment and Local Government in that that Department obviously issues a road worthiness certificate when somebody obtains a licence.
On the issue of safety, I have been advised that all I can do is disseminate widely the guidelines and safety standards which my Department imposes on its buses, that is, the buses which are owned by Bus Éireann or private contractors employed by Bus Éireann as part of the school transport scheme. There are various standards which apply in those cases, as the Deputy will be aware, and there are various advance inspections. All the documentation on insurance, road-worthiness, tax, etc., must be produced and the Department must satisfy itself about various matters. The Department has disseminated the guidelines in order that they will be available for any group of parents who wish to hire a private contractor.
What discussions has the Minister of State had with the Department of the Environment and Local Government on this report? If a public transport service using a bus needs a licence from the Department of the Environment and Local Government, how can he tell me that one does not need a licence to transport children to school? Is that acceptable?
Any vehicle which goes on the public road needs a licence. To take a vehicle on the public road without a licence is a criminal offence. As far as discussions with the Department of the Environment and Local Government are concerned, we have nothing to discuss because it is a private arrangement between a group of parents and somebody supplying a bus for hire. The same applies when a school hires a bus to take people to a football match or when parents get together to ferry children to school, whether by means of a car pool or otherwise.
The Department is reviewing the situation and the Minister of State has not had any discussions with it.
