Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020
103. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if parents that paid bus fees for the 20199-20 school year will be refunded the money paid for March, April, May and June 2020; and if not, if Bus Éireann will reduce the cost of the bus for the 2020-21 school year. [11883/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school
In the current school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, are transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over €219m in 2019.
The decision taken by the Government to close schools with effect from 13th March 2020 was taken in the interest of protecting our pupils, their families, teachers and those members of the wider community and is one of the many measures taken to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Given that the school transport services have not been available to children from 13th March, it was recently decided that at the end of the current school year a refund for that period of closure will be issued to parents. The Department has been engaging with Bus Éireann in developing a plan for facilitating these refunds and it is anticipated that refunds will start issuing to families at the end of June.
