Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire.
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Environmental Schemes
Sorca Clarke
Question:1. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education to provide an update on the provision of up to 6kW photovoltaic panels on all schools; when the scheme will be open for applications; and what the provisions of the scheme are. [45120/23]
The scheme for the provision of up to 6 kW of photovoltaic, PV, panels for schools was announced as part of budget 2023. We are now approaching the end of 2023 and we are still none the wiser as to the details of this scheme. Can the Minister please update the House on same?
At the outset, I want to confirm that my Department has a very strong record with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings. This performance has been recognised at both national and, indeed, international level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in design and specification.
The Department’s approach to the decarbonisation of the school sector is predicated on establishing a credible phased pathway to zero emissions and meeting 2030 public sector targets. This will be achieved through an evidence-based approach, informed by the Department’s energy research programme, which has been in place from 1997 with 54 different research strands.
The Department’s primary goal under the school building programme is to build a modern and sustainable school infrastructure that provides a learning place in a safe and inspiring physical environment for all students, now and into the future.
Under Project Ireland 2040, in excess of €5 billion will be invested in school infrastructure during the period 2021 to 2025. As part of our overall approach to sustainability in the school estate, it is intended that 6 kW solar PV panels will be provided to schools. This is funded from the climate action fund, which is under the remit of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. This is really positive for our schools and will assist with their energy needs and costs, along with supporting the decarbonisation of our school buildings.
The Department has been engaging regularly with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications over the last year to prepare for the roll-out of the programme. This has involved engagement around issues such as the scope of the scheme, the detail of what is included in the PV installation package and compliance with the climate action fund.
The Department of Education has also been working to develop the strategic and operational management approach to ensure the scheme can be rolled out smoothly to primary and post-primary schools. This has included review of implementation strategies, procurement options and costings.
The scheme will fund 6 kW of roof-mounted solar PV, which equates to approximately 16 solar panels. Connection to the grid will be included to allow unused solar energy to feed to the grid when schools are closed. This will enable schools to be compensated for renewable exports to the grid.
Monitoring software will also be provided to each school, to allow review and discussion of the energy generated each day for staff and students. It is intended that the scheme will be implemented using the Department’s geographic information system, GIS, to support efficient roll-out. This will provide a user-friendly online mechanism for schools interacting with the Department on this solar scheme. This will be the first capital delivery programme of its kind to be implemented using GIS as the interface between schools and the Department. As a result, considerable work has been ongoing in my Department in developing the GIS platform and interface.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
It has been agreed in principle between the two Departments that the solar photovoltaic programme will be rolled out to schools in phases.
I am pleased to advise that we remain on track to launch the first phase of the scheme this quarter and we expect all schools to have the opportunity to apply on a phased basis between quarter four 2023 and the end of 2024. Officials from my Department and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications are currently working to finalise all details of the scheme.
I look forward to being in a position to make a more detailed announcement in conjunction with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, in the coming weeks.
I thank the Minister for the update. It is becoming somewhat rare that everybody in the House agrees on something when it is a good idea. I think everybody in this House agrees that PV solar panels on schools are an exceptionally good idea, particularly given the level of increase that we have seen in electricity costs and the financial pressures that has placed on schools over the past 12 to 18 months. While preparatory work is important, one must question the inordinate time that it has taken to get to this point. If the preparatory work on how many schools currently have solar panels has taken this long, I would concur with schools when they express concerns to me about how long it will be before those solar panels are physically on their roof, reducing their electricity bills and facilitating them to sell any excess energy back into the grid, much to their benefit and to the benefit of the State's carbon footprint.
When will this scheme be open for schools to apply? Will it be before Christmas? Will it be in the first quarter of 2024? I know that will be greatly appreciated by the schools that have expressed genuine willingness and desire for this to happen for their schools.
I agree with the Deputy. There is widespread agreement that this is an innovative, positive and proactive step forward on climate sustainability. I acknowledge that it has been agreed between the Departments that the solar PV programme will be rolled out to schools in phases. I am pleased to advise that we remain on track to launch the first phase of the scheme this quarter. We expect all schools to have the opportunity to apply on a phased basis between the quarter 4 of 2023 and the end of 2023. Officials from my Department and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications are currently working on finalising the scheme and its details. It will be launched on a phased basis in quarter 4 of 2023.
I acknowledge that this particularly innovative scheme will be the first time that capital infrastructure of this nature will be rolled out via the GIS, which will make it much more streamlined for schools and easier for them to become involved. In fairness, there has been significant development work. It was announced in budget 2023 for implementation in the 2023-24 school year. I am pleased to confirm that the first phase of that will be rolled out before Christmas.
When the Minister refers to the utilisation of GIS, anything that can streamline projects that are of real benefit to our schools is always going to be welcomed, and I welcome that. Will she provide the House with more detail on how schools are being prioritised in that area? She mentioned the modern nature of new school builds. She is correct to do that. Any new build is more modern and will be more energy-efficient than something that has been in existence for 40 or 50 years, but the vast majority of schools throughout the country are schools of a particular age. Some will also have limited roof space. They may actually be taller than they are wide. Has that been factored into consideration of this? I have spoken to schools and they want this to happen as soon as possible. Will the Minister outline priorities for areas where it will happen? That would be appreciated.
I appreciate there is unanimity from schools as well as from the House on moving this as quickly as possible. The GIS is an innovative move by the Department. It means that the uploading of quotes and streaming of applications will be done much faster. That will accelerate the delivery of the programme.
On the finer detail, there is agreement that it will be done on a phased basis. The fuller detail is not entirely within the gift of my Department. We are working with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. It has been funded by the climate action fund. Further detail will be announced in the coming weeks. As I said, in quarter 4 of 2023, it will initially open, and then for all schools by 2024. I acknowledge two other aspects that are significant. There will be monitoring software as part of the system so that each school will be in a position to review and discuss their energy consumption each day, which will be a positive learning experience for both staff and students.
Educational Disadvantage
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Question:2. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education if she will deliver on a DEIS plus proposal for schools in areas of the highest disadvantage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45280/23]
As the Minister knows, I have been raising the issue of the potential for a DEIS plus scheme over the last period. I know that the Minister, in her answer, will give me an extensive Government response on DEIS, its expansion and all that. I really need her to drill down into this specific proposal for trauma-informed supports for a number of extremely disadvantaged schools in a number of identified geographic locations in Dublin and across the country.
The Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing these universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a targeted, equitable way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity and has benefits for students.
As part of budget 2023, I secured more than€8 million to specifically enhance school attendance, participation, and retention. I had previously allocated a 5% increase in funding for the school completion programme, and in September I announced that the remaining balance of over €6 million would be committed to an attendance campaign support grant for all schools, with a higher allocation target at DEIS schools, recognising the more concentrated level of disadvantage in these schools. Schools will receive this grant this week. It will enable all schools to develop and implement targeted interventions to improve attendance and is designed to support and augment the school attendance campaign which is running through this school year. Guidance is also being issued to schools to provide advice on using available data to target supports and to provide schools with examples of good practice and initiatives that have been successful in the past.
I am also pleased that in budget 2024, additional funding of €5 million is being provided for social inclusion measures, including additional educational welfare officer posts. It will also provide supports for the alternative education assessment and registration service for its work on the provision of education in places other than recognised schools, including home schooling and independent schools. A further €2 million is being made available for increasing services in school retention and completion programmes and supports targeted at the most educationally disadvantaged children. Recent engagement between my officials and some principals of schools in areas of disadvantage will help to inform the targeting of these resources. I met many of these principals myself.
The Department of Education now spends approximately €180 million annually, providing additional supports to approximately 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme. This includes an additional €32 million allocated following the announcement to extend the programme to an additional 322 schools last September. This now means that approximately 240,000 students, or one in four of all students, are now supported in the programme.
Within the DEIS programme, the highest levels of resources are targeted at those primary schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage. Schools in this category are accorded DEIS urban band 1 status. There are currently 306 primary schools in DEIS urban band 1, including 79 primary schools that were included in the band for the first time last September as part of the extension of the programme.
I am talking about a specific group of schools that the Minister referenced. I have met them. A letter was written by 30 or so principals in extremely disadvantaged schools in Tallaght, Ballymun and Dublin 17 in my constituency. They are witnessing things they never witnessed before. They are talking about intergenerational trauma. They say the Covid pandemic had a profoundly damaging effect on these children. They say to me that some children are being lost for good and forever because of a lack of supports. I spoke to one principal who said that because of a particular feud that is happening in the geographic region that she teaches in, they have to change the way that they walk to swimming every week because a child might be shot. This is profound disadvantage. The only chance they have is their school, their education and the supports that their families might get. They are asking for an expansion of the north east inner city multidisciplinary teams model to include all schools in their cluster, for nurture rooms, and for the expansion of the support teacher service. We do not need to chew over this for a prolonged period. We do not need to review it. We just need to do it.
I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from. I have met with many of these principals and heard what they have to say. I acknowledge, as we all do, that DEIS has a very significant and positive impact on our schools. We see the benefit of it but we also know two things; there are children who are at risk of educational disadvantage who are attending schools that are not DEIS schools, and there are children attending DEIS schools that are looking for models, as outlined by the Deputy, such as DEIS plus.
To support us in the work we are doing, there is an OECD review. It is a significant review where we have invited the OECD project, Strength through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies, to review the current provision, in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools, with a view to looking at spaces and opportunities to do more, to do extra, to continue what is going well and to provide the additionality in areas where it is required. I do not doubt the earnestness, truthfulness and lived experience of the principals who have brought this to my attention. We will work through it. The first step is to have a critical and impactful review, which is being conducted by the OECD.
With the greatest of respect, I cannot look a teacher or principal in the eye and say, "I know you really want resources but there is an OECD review". I cannot do that with any sort of straight face. I get incredibly frustrated when Government representatives tell me that some children who are disadvantaged do not go to DEIS schools. Every child who goes to a DEIS school, particularly in an area of profound disadvantage is a profoundly disadvantaged student. The school is their only hope and only chance. It really is. Without these very specific trauma-based supports, which principals have outlined, we are losing these children. We are losing them day after day. We do not have the time for an OECD review.
I suggest that the urgency with which principals have presented this to me is the type of urgency the Minister and her Department need. It is not a big ask for these trauma-based supports that principals feel would be an intervention that could save some lives, or certainly prevent a child from going in a wrong direction. With the greatest of respect, I ask the Minister to please not tell me about disadvantaged children going to non-DEIS schools and the expansion of DEIS services, but talk to me about the most disadvantaged schools, the most disadvantaged children within those schools, and what we can do to assist the principals who are asking for this very specific support.
There is not much the Deputy is saying that I disagree with. I have acknowledged the need for it. I have met with many of the principals who have presented their experience to me. It is important if we are to make any changes, amendments or additions to DEIS, that we have an overall look at DEIS, how it is working, where it is working well and where there are opportunities to do things differently. If I did not do that, it would also be a dereliction.
We have a scheme, at a cost of more than €180 million, that we know is working well in many instances but we also know there is scope to do things differently. Those compiling the OECD report were here for a considerable period throughout the summer. They engaged with a number of different schools, principals, and a number of different bodies, agencies and organisations on how we can do things differently. It will be an independent report that will be completed as quickly as possible. As I said, we have introduced many other measures in both budget 2023 and budget 2024 that support schools but, in the interim, when the OECD completes this body of work, it will give us a pathway forward as regards much of what the Deputy highlighted.
Capitation Grants
Sorca Clarke
Question:3. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education to provide a breakdown of the budget 2024 allocation of €7 million in additional capitation grants for schools; and detail the analysis that was undertaken by her Department regarding sufficiency of this amount. [45121/23]
Will the Minister provide a breakdown of the budget 2024 allocation of €7 million in additional capitation grants for schools and detail the analysis undertaken by her Department regarding the sufficiency of this amount?
I am very pleased to have secured €10.5 billion in total funding for the education budget of 2024. This significant increase in funding ensures that the total budget is at the highest ever for our primary and post-primary schools. The funding will ensure continued reduced costs for families, it will continue to tackle disadvantage, and it will provide further supports to safeguard inclusive education for all school communities.
This year’s budget will provide targeted funding for school communities with an increase in cost-of-living and capitation funding of more than €81 million. The current standard rate of capitation, excluding once-off measures provided, is €183 per pupil at primary level. At post-primary, the rate is €316 per student for voluntary secondary schools. The standard capitation rates are different for community and comprehensive schools as well as those in the education and training board, ETB, sector, as these schools are funded via non-pay budget grants from the Department.
As part of the cost-of-living and capitation funding package in budget 2024, I am pleased to have secured €21 million as a permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and in the longer term with increased day-to-day running costs. The first-year 2024 cost of this is €7 million, as the Deputy referenced, but the full-year cost in 2025 is €21 million which, combined with €60 million in cost-of-living funding, brings the total to €81 million. This will support a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools from September 2024. This will bring the basic rate of capitation to €200 per student in primary schools and to €345 in voluntary secondary schools. Enhanced rates will also be paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs. This represents an increase of approximately 9.2% of current standard and enhanced capitation rates.
In addition to the €21 million in the permanent base, I also secured, as I said, €60 million as part of the cost-of-living measures. All recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme will benefit from this additional capitation funding, which will be paid at an average rate of €49 per pupil at primary level and €75 at post-primary level. Enhanced rates will also be paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs.
Schools also receive an ancillary services grant. The standard rate is €173 per pupil in primary schools and €224.50 per student in post-primary schools.
Does the Minister acknowledge and understand the level of dismay with which this announcement was received by those who are charged with delivering education through our school system? The €60 million she referenced is not a permanent measure; it is a once-off measure. Relying on once-off measures of a precarious nature, and precarious funding, is categorically not what teachers' unions, teachers and principals asked for as part of budget 2024. One email sent to me by a principal last week stated that it is effectively a 10% cut in capitation. Others said to me that their schools are experiencing profound financial hardship.
The funding of education was the big issue of budget 2024 for countless people because they wanted to see funding put on a permanent footing that would ensure our education system was funded to an adequate amount, ending the myth that we have free education and ensuring that it is actually free. The temporary measures the Minister announced do nothing to address the supersized classes we have in some parts of the country.
I once again confirm for the Deputy's information that it is a budget of €10.5 billion and €81 million is being expended on capitation, €21 million of which is in the core as a permanent measure that will support a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools from September 2024. The additional €60 million investment is a cost-of-living investment. By "permanent measure", we now mean that the basic rate at primary schools will be €200 and €345 at post-primary level. However, there will be an additional €49 at primary and an additional €75 at post-primary.
Other grants are also available to schools, including the ancillary services grant, as I mentioned, which is €173 per child at primary school land €224.50 at post-primary. This is a significant uplift for schools, which is in excess of €81 million.
Of that €81 million, the amount of temporary funding is three times as much as the permanent funding. It is no secret and will come as no surprise to anybody that schools as much as households are struggling with their energy and electricity bills. Schools are telling me that where they may want to end the practice of being reliant on fund-raising and voluntary contributions, and the vast majority of them do, that budget 2024 does not put them in a position where they will be able to do that. They will still struggle to pay the heating, lighting and water bills.
We must remember that the underfunding of schools does not just have financial implications. It has socioeconomic implications too because in communities where parents are least able to put in those voluntary contributions, those schools will end up in a very difficult decision-making position, which no school wants to be in, as to what they can and cannot provide to their students. It effectively comes down to what the parents in that area are able to pay. There is enormous pressure on parents, which the Minister has acknowledged, to pay these contributions.
We have spoken about this before.
We are way over time, Deputy.
Everybody wants to see those ended but it means proper resourcing for schools.
In the first instance, €81 million is a significant uplift to schools, €21 million of which is a permanent measure. It is interesting to note that the Deputy's own party was offering something around €40 million in terms of capitation-----
Additional, from January.
We have actually more than doubled that-----
Permanent.
Sinn Féin offered €40 million-----
Permanent.
-----we have offered €81 million to the schools and that is a significant provision for schools, because €21 million of it will ensure there will be support and it will bring it up to a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools from September 2024. The Deputy referenced schools that have particular issues around disadvantage. More than €180 million is being made available through the DEIS programme to our schools and one in four of our students are benefitting from the DEIS supports in our schools. Equally so, just to acknowledge, where any school has an individual issue we have a financial services support unit in the Department. We invite schools to engage with the unit on a one-to-one basis and we will work through any specific or individual issues a school might have.
School Staff
Gary Gannon
Question:4. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education to outline the actions being undertaken by her Department to tackle teacher shortages and ensure that teachers remain in the profession, and to attract new teachers to posts in primary and secondary schools. [45381/23]
What is the Minister for Education doing to address the teacher shortage crisis in our schools, to attract new teachers into the profession, and also to retain the teachers we have currently?
Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority area of action for the Government. Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrate the commitment to continued investment in our education system. In addition to numerous actions taken in recent years to address teacher supply, a number of specific, targeted measures will be introduced with the new funding provided in budget 2024. These include a professional masters of education incentive scheme, funding for additional teacher upskilling programmes and increasing the number of posts of responsibility. A professional masters of education, PME, incentive scheme will be introduced for newly qualified teachers graduating in May 2024. These newly qualified teachers who graduate with a PME will, subject to some conditions, be eligible for an incentive payment of up to €2,000. This incentive payment will be paid to eligible primary and post-primary teachers in 2025. It will recognise the costs that PME students incur when completing their initial teacher education, assist them with these costs and encourage suitable candidates to consider a career in teaching.
Additionally, there will be an expansion in the number of upskilling programmes available. These programmes, which are free of charge to all teachers, increase the number of teachers who are qualified to teach in-demand subjects and reduce the level of out-of-field teaching. These new subjects in terms of upskilling include Irish, French, politics and society, and computer science and will be in addition to the existing upskilling programmes in maths, physics and Spanish. Also, an additional 1,000 posts of responsibility will be provided in the school system for the 2024-25 school year. This is in recognition of school leaders and of the role they play in improving educational outcomes by creating a positive school climate and environment, as well as motivating and empowering educators and learners within their school communities.
These new measures are in addition to a range of targeted measures that I have already introduced in recent times, including at primary level my approval of 610 additional places on initial teacher education programmes for this and the next academic year. I recently met with the primary teacher initial education providers on continuing existing flexibilities that enable student teachers to support schools, either while on placement, or in a substitute capacity. In 2023, more than 2,700 student teachers registered with the Teaching Council and provided valuable support to schools as substitute teachers.
I do not think we can step away from the fact that there is a teacher shortage crisis happening in primary and post-primary schools. To address some of the initiatives the Minister spoke about, the PME incentive of €2,000, for example, is very welcome, but the PME course down here is two years. A graduate who wanted to take on the initiative would still have to deal with rising rent costs. God help them if they live in Dublin where it would be eaten up and actually would not even cover the cost of a month's rent.
The Social Democrats made a number of suggestions last year and I will go to them because they really cut through to what we need. They are permanent whole-time jobs to be given to teachers upon initial appointment; teachers in training to be paid for their work in placement schools; allowing teachers to be recruited on a full-time basis after the traditional cut-off of 31 October; and eliminating delays surrounding the re-registration of teachers with the Teaching Council. I do not doubt for a second that the Minister also recognises the crisis but we diverge slightly in terms of actions that need to be taken to address it. As I said, €2,000 as a number looks fine but in comparison the PME in the North is only one year and costs considerably less, and that would have made a much bigger difference.
I acknowledge the Deputy's proactive engagement in this space. We recognise that we are at near full employment and that there are challenges within the education sector, similar to challenges we have in the hospitality or business sector - you name the sector and there are challenges. I acknowledge that should not in any way diminish the particular challenges that a principal might have and face at a given time in terms of teacher availability. It is more acute in some areas than in others.
Specifically regarding the PME and the two-year aspect, in the first instance I have visited an awful lot of schools and met an awful lot of student teachers and one of the key issues highlighted to me is the cost. Because of the cost we introduced this €2,000 support for PME graduates and that is a very positive step forward. We keep everything under review but I am conscious, and everybody in this House knows, that more and more is being asked now of teachers. They are asked to be qualified in so many different aspects: special education; relationship sexuality education, RSE; social, personal and health education, SPHE; the curricular subjects they teach, and so much more. It is a significant demand on them and it was for that reason it was extended in the first place to two years but we keep everything under review.
The Minister will have a chance to come back in.
I appreciate the Minister will keep it under review but I also think that two years, for someone who has already gone through an undergraduate degree, is probably a little bit too much. Teaching is a profession and I know so many people who are in it and love the fact they are there, or would love to get into it. However, it is simply not affordable anymore to be a teacher in our cities and towns and to incur the cost of living which is crippling our public services as whole. The consequences of this include some special education teachers being forced to plug gaps in primary school mainstream classrooms leaving vulnerable students without the level of teaching they deserve; second level posts are left empty; and subjects are disappearing from curriculums in schools across the country. In the Minister's budget she highlighted there would be 700 new teaching posts that could be filled by the budget allocation. I do not see how we will fill them given the fact the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, INTO, is already talking about how we will lose another 250 teachers this year. We have to be real. For the PME the €2,000 will make a slight difference but it will be a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of actually trying to be a teacher in this country which is astronomical at the minute.
There are a number of routes into teaching as the Deputy is aware. Recognising the issue around the PME route and the expense of it, I have already outlined the €2,000 support there. I want to acknowledge the 3,500 teachers graduating every year. It is very significant. I have also increased the number of places on the initial teacher education programmes by more than 600 over two years. There were 2,700 student teachers last year who registered with the Teaching Council. We have never had such a high level of registrations with the Teaching Council in terms of student teachers making themselves available. Restrictions across a whole variety of schemes, whether it is the job-sharing schemes, have been lifted. There is a waiver of abatement for retired teachers. We have looked at teachers at post-primary level who wish to teach additional hours and they can do so and be recompensed for it. We have looked at teacher sharing schemes and as I said we looked at posts of responsibility because again it is a pathway towards furthering oneself in one's career and 1,000 additional posts have been made available there. There are also the PME schemes and the upskilling programmes. I know these work. I attended a graduation in University of Limerick, UL, a couple of weeks ago where more than 100 teachers graduated in maths.
I thank the Minister. We are way over time.
School Transport
Sorca Clarke
Question:5. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education to provide a breakdown of the Budget 2024 allocation of €50 million for the school transport scheme between capital and revenue; and the details of additional capacity this will cater for and the priority for spending. [45122/23]
Can the Minister provide a breakdown to the House of the budget 2024 allocation of €50 million for the school transport scheme between capital and revenue, the details of additional capacity this will cater for, and the priority for spending?
The school transport scheme is a significant operation, as the Deputy is aware. It is managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2022-23 school year more than 149,000 children, including more than 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school transport scheme services were provided in the 2022-23 school year for more than 5,400 children who arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was in excess of €338.9 million.
As part of the budget measures for 2024, the Government announced an additional €50 million for school transport which will allow continued investment for children to access the school transport scheme. The increased investment in the scheme is due in the main to the cost of contractors to cater for the increase in pupil numbers projected in 2024. In addition, the expected increase in the scheme for children with special educational needs will result in a subsequent increase in the number of school bus escorts required. This is factored into the additional costs for 2024.
Alongside this €50 million in funding for investment in the overall scheme, a further €42 million was provided as part of the cost-of-living measures announced in budget 2024. This funding will be used to assist families with the costs of education. Reduced fees will continue to apply to school transport for the 2024-25 academic year. All funding for the school transport scheme for 2024 will be derived from core or current funding and not capital funding.
There has been a significant overall increase year on year in school transport applications and tickets issued. In 2017, the number of children availing of primary, post-primary and special educational needs transport was 116,000. However, the number of children availing of school transport in the current year has increased to approximately 152,000, an increase of 31%.
As with most, if not all, Government schemes, there are criteria governing the operation of the scheme. Pupils at primary level are eligible where they live not less than 3.2 km from and are attending their nearest primary school and, at post-primary level, not less than 4.8 km from and are attending their nearest post-primary school or education centre. Any pupils or students who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible - otherwise known as concessionary applicants - and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.
We could almost set our watches at this point for when the phones will start ringing and the emails will start coming in with school transport queries. This year was no different. In many ways, it is becoming Groundhog Day. Year in and year out, there are issues with the school transport scheme. While the €50 million is welcome, as would be any investment in school transport, we need to tackle the fundamental flaws in the scheme. It is not only Deputies on this side of the House who are raising this issue. The Minister's party colleagues are raising cases in their constituencies involving pupils who had concessionary tickets for years and are suddenly unable to get a seat on the school bus. This does not only apply to those with concessionary tickets.
I have given umpteen examples over the past few months of issues with this scheme but I will repeat one of them involving a granny driving from Clare to Dublin to mind one twin while the other could get the school bus. It is an absolute shambles and it is causing profound pressure on families. Everybody wants this scheme to work, none more so than the parents who are reliant on it. For that to happen, the review that has been ongoing for two and a half years needs to be published and actioned.
I and every Member of the House, particularly Deputies from rural constituencies, appreciate the importance of the school transport system. It is for this reason that the system is underpinned by significant funding, with almost €339 million expended last year. An additional €50 million has been provided this year to ensure greater access and to allow children to avail of school transport. This is increased investment is due in the main to the cost of contractors to cater for the increase in pupil numbers projected in 2024. We provided €42 million to keep the cost of school transport at a reduced rate, which is an important consideration for families.
As with any scheme, there must be criteria and the criteria have not changed. Students who were eligible under these criteria received a seat on a school bus, while those who were not eligible under the criteria could, if fortunate, receive a not eligible or concessionary ticket. The criteria have been unchanged for the last number of years and they have been abundantly clear.
That has not been my experience. I have a case where one brother got a ticket and the other did not. Their mother told me she would be driving behind the school bus. That is not an unusual or unique situation.
When parents contact Bus Éireann, they are met by a disregard almost for the query they have and the pressure this scheme puts them under. While I acknowledge the funding that has been provided for the scheme, the issue is with the scheme itself. Instead of repeating the problem, the Government needs to find a solution that works for everybody.
Children want to use this service and parents want their children on it. Traffic congestion in our towns and villages could be addressed with a proper service. Emissions would improve with a fit-for-purpose service and safety around our schools would rapidly increase with fewer cars on the road. Clearly, it is a win-win for everybody. However, there are fundamental flaws with the scheme and they need to be addressed. Without the review being published and actioned, we will have the same conversation here again next year and other parents will be in the same position as parents are in this year and were in last year and the year before that.
To be clear, there are eligibility criteria. Pupils who live 3.2 km from their nearest primary school or 4.8 km from their nearest or next nearest post-primary school are eligible. In relation to one child getting a ticket and the other sibling not getting one, if both children are eligible, both will get a ticket. However, if they are not eligible, concessionary tickets are provided by lottery under the present system.
A considerable body of work has been undertaken in relation to the review. This is a demand-led service, which is important. The review involved engagement with our European counterparts, bus providers, parents and guardians of children who are utilising the service and students, as well as with those who are not utilising the system but would like to do so. The work is drawing to a close and will be published shortly. It will give us a pathway forward. I want to be clear that this will demand considerable resources, bearing in mind that what the current system is resourced to the tune of €339 million.