Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2015
491. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline her views on whether the current tendering process for school transport (details supplied) is equitable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39282/15]
View answerBus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, is obliged to tender all works, goods and services in line with the European Directives on public procurement. The basic principle of public procurement is that there should be a competitive process and this approach applies to procurement by all public sector bodies, and includes school transport services performed by contractors under the School Transport Scheme. The tendering process is a competitive process which allows Bus Éireann to achieve the procurement objectives in terms of value for money, access to the contracts for all interested parties, transparency on how the contracts are awarded, and equality of treatment. The rules of the competition and the selection and award criteria were clearly outlined as to how the contracts would be awarded and all interested parties were provided with the same opportunity and the same information. In this way the procurement process is carried out in an fair, open and transparent manner complying with all applicable EU Procurement Law, domestic legislation and government regulations.
The contractual obligations that contractors are obliged to satisfy provide assurance that school transport services provided under the School Transport Scheme continue to meet the highest safety standards, and are neither unfair nor unreasonable. This includes an obligation to keep and provide evidence that all statutory vehicle, driver and company certificates and licences are kept current and in order. Nominated drivers are obliged to satisfy medical examination, must be licensed to drive the size of vehicle used, and are subject to vetting procedures arranged by Bus Éireann and conducted by the Garda Central Vetting Unit. Vehicles and maintenance systems are subject to random inspection conducted by leading independent experts in this field on behalf of Bus Éireann in addition to satisfying statutory obligations outlined by the RSA, and service performance is monitored by School Bus Inspectors with support from the local Bus Éireann school transport office.
Bus Éireann is very conscious of the specialised nature of transport provision for pupils with special educational needs under the School Transport Scheme. This is reflected in the standard of service provided and by Bus Éireann factoring the individual requirements of the children concerned into the planning of these services which generally operate on a door-to-door basis. They remain very conscious of the disruption in service provision occasioned by a potential change of driver arising from the tendering process they are obliged to conduct but the award of a five-year contract to the successful tenderer provides security for the duration of the contract to the contractor as well as stability, in terms of familiarity with transport arrangements, for the families, schools, and children concerned. Bus Éireann does not tender for the work that it subcontracts to private operators.
