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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 1 Feb 2001

Vol. 529 No. 3

Priority Questions. - School Bus Incident.

Paul Bradford

Question:

5 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will report on an incident involving school bus transport where four pupils fell from a moving bus in County Galway giving rise to serious injuries in some cases; if all buses operated by Bus Éireann on behalf of his Department comply strictly with the regulations for mechanical safety and roadworthiness as laid down by the Department of the Environment and Local Government; if all such buses are in compliance with the emission levels for carbons, hydro carbons, and carbon monoxide as is required for privately owned public service vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2778/01]

The precise details of the cause of the unfortunate accident in County Galway on Monday, 22 January are not yet available. Bus Éireann and the Garda Síochána have undertaken separate investigations into the accident. My Department will give careful consideration to the findings of the investigations as soon as the reports are to hand.

My Department and Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, consider safety on school buses to be of paramount importance. Bus Éireann has a very good safety record and has clearly shown its commitment to safety over the years, through its promotion of high profile safety campaigns including, in 1998-99, a nationwide competition to find a team of students to act as a video production team to make a video about safety in travelling to and from school by bus.

With such a large operation as the school trans port scheme, there is a need to be ever vigilant with regard to safety. As I announced recently, I have asked my Department in co-operation with Bus Éireann to review safety procedures on school buses. This review will examine in detail current safety procedures and all areas where improvements can be put in place to ensure a safer service for our children. I have requested that the examination be given priority status and completed within three months.

All school buses operating in the Bus Éireann school bus fleet are subject to the Department of the Environment and Local Government's annual roadworthiness test. This test is carried out as directed by the Department of the Environment and Local Government in test centres authorised by that Department. Only buses that have passed that test are used in school transport operations.

Smoke emissions from Bus Éireann school transport buses are tested as part of the annual roadworthiness test, and are subject to the standards laid down by the Department of the Environment and Local Government. To exceed the required smoke meter reading is regarded as a reason for failure, and such vehicles must be rectified before being resubmitted for testing. Bus Éireann vehicles have to meet the same requirements as those provided by private contractors.

I appreciate the Minister of State does not yet have full details of the accident. Can he confirm the age of the school bus involved? Will he confirm that once he has received the full report, it will be published?

I do not have to hand the age of the school bus involved, but I will communicate that information to the Deputy.

In relation to the publication of the report, it is not the usual practice to publish such reports. I have had discussions with my Department officials on that. There will also be a Garda investigation although I do not know if the Garda intend to publish their report. It is not usual practice to publish these reports because there may be certain sensitivities regarding the families of the children involved but I assure Deputy Bradford that I will look at the report when it comes in and if it is possible to publish it or to publish certain parts of it without causing legal implications or offending people's sensitivities I will be happy to do so. My instinct is in favour of publication and I will do so if at all possible.

The Minister mentioned ongoing efforts regarding safety campaigns in the video. I have not seen the video but progress along those lines will only take us so far. How can we have a truly safe school bus system when the fleet is so old? Last week the Minister of State made the point on radio that the Irish school bus fleet is much younger than that in Britain but do we have a fleet replacement programme which is lowering the average bus age or are we simply replacing ten year old buses with other ten year old buses? Does the Minister of State intend to bring down the age of the fleet? School bus safety is paramount and surely the age of the bus is important in that regard.

The age of the school bus fleet is being lowered, albeit not as quickly as I would like. The reason the age was not lowered for many years was that there was no money available to Bus Éireann to replace their own main bus fleet. As investment in Bus Éireann rises, capital investment to upgrade its buses rises and it replaces older school buses with newer buses. Those taken out of service are relegated to the school bus fleet. That is an ongoing process which has now accelerated. While I do not deny we have some antiques on the road, the average age of the school bus fleet is coming down.

There has been much media comment about the number of accidents involving school buses, a lot of which is misinformed and grossly irresponsible. A national newspaper ran an editorial recently stating that two people have been killed on school buses every year for the last ten years. That is the reverse of the truth. Since 1994 there have been five fatalities, all of which occurred in one unfortunate accident in County Wicklow and the driver of the other vehicle involved was subsequently prosecuted and convicted by the criminal courts. Talking to people in Departments of Education in other countries, the safety record of the Irish school bus system is regarded as exemplary.

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