Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 October 2022
120. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Education if she will support organising bus transport for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49595/22]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 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 €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.
The National Council for Special Education acts in an advisory role to the Department of Education on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs. Under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, my Department will consider the report of the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO). School transport is provided to children with special educational needs who are attending the nearest school to their place of residence that is or can be resourced to meet their educational needs, as identified by the SENO.
Bus Éireann make every effort to facilitate requests for set down at addresses other than the child’s home address provided the alternate address is on the route of the existing service and the arrangements are the same throughout the school year.
However, in general, it is not possible to facilitate atypical school transport arrangements which involve additional mileage, inconvenience to other children on the service, additional cost to the State or where Bus Éireann have concerns regarding a child's safety.
Bus Éireann has advised that the request referred to by the Deputy would have a deviation to the route of an existing service and would inconvenience other children on the service and therefore cannot be granted.
