Vol. 551 No. 4
213 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he is seeking implementation of the 1999 Oireachtas Report on road safety in relation to students attending school; the stage the implementation of the report is at; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10680/02]
The recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee Report on School Transport have been considered in my Department. A number of improvements were put in place in 2001. These included reducing the qualifying distance for eligibility for school transport for primary school pupils aged ten and over from three to two miles, so that all primary pupils are treated equally for eligibility purposes. The number of eligible primary pupils required to establish a new school bus service has been reduced from ten to seven. All school transport vehicles now have a communication system on board. The scope of the remote area grants, payable to pupils in certain circumstances, has been extended and the rate of grant payable has been increased.
The travelling and waiting time for post-primary pupils has been reduced from three to two and a half hours. Where feasible students who are on the early pick-up from their homes are the first to be dropped home in the evening and vice versa. The safety aspects of school transport have been examined by the school transport section of my Department together with Bus Éireann and the Department of the Environment and Local Government. A report has just been completed and copies are available from my Department and the Department of the Environment and Local Government. Submissions are invited from all interested parties. When the submissions are received and examined, consideration will be given to the question of what improvements can be put in place to further improve the safety of the children who use the service.
