Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
492. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education if her Department or the relevant body under her aegis will review the circumstances whereby a number of children from Kilteel, County Kildare are being refused school transport to a school (details supplied) given that the nearest school is full (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14209/22]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 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 €289m in 2021.
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.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who apply for school transport but who are not eligible are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
In cases where the Department is satisfied that the nearest school is full, eligibility for school transport will be determined based on the distance that children reside from their next nearest school having regard to ethos and language. To establish that the nearest school is full parents/guardians must provide certain documentary evidence including confirmation that an application for enrolment in the nearest school was made within the deadline dates specified by the school and confirmation from the school authorities that the school was full.
As you are aware my Department commenced a review of the School Transport Scheme in February 2021. The review is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure that it serves students and their families adequately.
The review encompasses the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs and the Primary and Post-Primary School Transport Schemes in terms of how each element of the schemes currently operate, to include eligibility criteria, trends, costs and cost drivers, and overall effectiveness in meeting the objectives of the schemes.
The review will also examine the potential for integration of different strands of the scheme and a more co-ordinated approach with other Government Departments that also use transport services. The review will consider issues such as climate action, supporting rural development and promoting where possible initiatives that encourage walking and cycling to school.
In June 2021, the Steering Group presented an initial interim report on eligibility with an examination of issues for mainstream pupils relating to the nearest and next nearest school. Following consideration of this report, I approved temporary alleviation measures which allowed for the provision of transport for post-primary students who are otherwise eligible for school transport but are attending their second nearest school and had applied and paid on time.
Wider considerations relating to operation of the scheme are now taking place in the second phase of the review. As part of this phase of the review, my Department has conducted an extensive stakeholder engagement process. My Department is analysing the views of relevant stakeholders, including parents, guardians, students and other Government Departments, so that they may be considered as part of the assessment and in informing policy on the future operation of the scheme.
Individual queries may be addressed to School Transport Section of my Department at school_transport@education.gov.ie
