Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 September 2021
467. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education the reason a person (details suppled) had to pay for school transport given that Bus Éireann informed them that it did not have a bus for three days. [46545/21]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2020/21 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 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.
Under the terms of my Department’s School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, children are eligible for school transport where they have special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability and are attending the nearest recognised school/class that is resourced to meet their special educational needs. Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers.
Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil in question is currently availing of transport under the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs. This pupil commenced on transport from 06/09/2021 in the 2021/22 school year. Transport was not available to this pupil for 3 days on 01/09/2021, 02/09/2021 & 03/09/2021 due to no contractor being available to operate this service.
A Special Transport Grant (STG) towards the cost of private transport arrangements may be provided in
certain situations such as where Bus Éireann is not in a position to provide a transport service. The grant payable is based on the distance that a family reside from their child’s school of attendance. The calculation is based on four trips per day (home to school and school to home, morning and afternoon) multiplied by the number of days a child attends school in the relevant school year. The current rate of grant is 39.12 cent per kilometre for the first 6,437 kilometres travelled and 21.22 per kilometre for each kilometre travelled thereafter.
School Transport Section of my Department will contact the family in regard to the Special Transport Grant for the days the service was not available.
