Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 March 2021
119. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Education if concessionary school bus tickets can be retained by students (details supplied) for the coming school term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13788/21]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 113,100 children, including over 14,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
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 Post Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8kms from and are attending their nearest Post Primary School/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only. Concessionary transport is subject to a number of terms and conditions including the availability of spare seats on an existing service and payment, on time, of the annual charge. The availability of concessionary transport may vary from year to year, is not available on public scheduled services and cannot be guaranteed for the duration of a child’s education cycle.
Where the number of applications for transport on a concessionary basis exceeds the number of seats available, Bus Éireann will determine the allocation of the tickets. Routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children travelling on a concessionary basis.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that the children to whom the Deputy refers are not eligible for school transport as they are not attending their nearest post primary school. They were unsuccessful in obtaining a concessionary ticket for the 2020/21 school year. At this stage Bus Éireann cannot confirm if this family will be successful in obtaining concessionary tickets for the 2021/2022 school year as the availability of concessionary transport varies from year to year.
