Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
433. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education if enough buses are contracted to ensure that every child in Ballyboughal, County Dublin, who requires a school bus service can have one; the timeline in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28189/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
In the 2019/20 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 my Department’s School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kms at primary and 4.8kms at post-primary and are attending their nearest School/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on time have been accommodated on school transport services in the 2020/2021 school year where such services are in operation. Children who are eligible for school transport but for whom no service is available may be offered the Remote Area Grant towards the cost of making private transport arrangements.
Children who apply but who are not eligible for school transport are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
