Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 September 2021
583. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education if the additional school transport capacity will be put on a school bus route (details supplied) in County Kerry to cater for demand; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42567/21]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were 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 Department's Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school as determined by my 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 will be accommodated on school transport services for the 2021/22 school year where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport and who apply 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.
The closing date for payment for the 2021/2022 school year was the 31st July 2021. There are currently 6 late applications from the area in question on the Bus Éireann system that have been received between August and September 2021 and these are currently being processed by Bus Éireann.
Late applicants and/or families who pay late are not guaranteed a seat and will only be allocated a seat if capacity is available once seats are allocated to those families who applied and paid on time for transport services for the 2021/2022 school year.
