Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
456. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education if additional transport can be provided for post-primary pupils attending college (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23999/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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 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.
Under the terms of the Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest Post Primary School/Education Centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Where there is more than one school in a Post Primary Education Centre, Central Measuring Points (CMPs) such as bus stations/post offices are a feature of the school transport scheme. CMPs have assisted in the smooth operation of services for many years. The use of CMPs benefits families by ensuring that children of the same family, who are attending different schools in the same education centre, are eligible for school transport provided they satisfy the distance criterion to the CMP rather than the individual school.
Bus Éireann, who operate school transport on behalf of my Department, has advised that there are currently 12 school transport services operating to the Central Measuring Point that serves the school referred to by the Deputy and one other post primary school.
In the morning, school transport services drop off 0.55 km from the post primary school referred to in this case. In the afternoon, school transport services pick up 0.9 km from the school referred to at the central collection point.
Bus Éireann has advised that the current central collection point is the only location that can facilitate 12 vehicles being parked and ready for collection of pupils attending these post primary schools.
