Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2013
319. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of money refunded to his Department since 2005 for the scrappage of buses from the school transport scheme in view of the fact that his Department pays for all the depreciation of these buses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46448/13]
View answerSchool buses used in the Bus Éireann school bus fleet come from a variety of sources as set out in the Value for Money Review (March 2011). Some are second-hand buses specifically purchased by Bus Éireann for school transport purposes, while others were funded by the Department and attract no depreciation charges. Many of the vehicles were cascaded from the Road Passenger fleet.
Bus Éireann has advised that when these vehicles reach the end of their useful life they have little or no value and often incur disposal charges. On average the Company received in the region of just €240 per vehicle scrapped between 2005 and 2012, and the matter of refunding the amount concerned did not arise. The exception to this was one bus that was fully funded by the Department which was prematurely destroyed by fire in 2008 when still under warranty. In this case the value of the bus, being €165,975, was fully credited back to the Department by Bus Éireann.
