Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
511. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the cost of abolishing school transport charges for concessionary students; if she will outline the changes in the fees for the scheme over the past two years; the current fees paid by students; the total fees collected this school year; the projected fees to be collected in 2023 for the 2023/24 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37019/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/23 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine. The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
As part of the cost of living measures announcement by Government on 10 February 2022 for policy measures to mitigate the cost of living, for the 2022/2023 school year, the annual school transport cap per family was set to be reduced from the previous cap of €220 to €150 per family at primary level and from the previous cap of €650 to €500 per family at post-primary level. There were no reductions announced for single annual tickets at that time. Eligible children holding valid medical cards and eligible children with special educational needs were exempt from paying the annual charge.
However, as you are aware, in recognition that back to school is an expensive time of year for families, in July 2022, Government agreed funding for the total waiving of school transport scheme fees for the 2022/2023 school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.
Again as part of a wider package of cost of living measures, for the current school year 2023/2024, Government agreed funding for a reduction in school transport ticket charges, as a result ticketholders will save up to €50 at primary and €275 at post-primary, with an overall reduction in the family maximum contribution of €525 compared to the fees for 2021/2022 school year. This reduction in fees is at a cost of approximately €49m.
The annual charge for School Transport Services for the 2023/24 school year is set out below:
|
Category of Pupil |
Annual Charge |
|
Primary Eligible/Concessionary Pupil |
€50 |
|
Post Primary Eligible/Concessionary Pupil |
€75 |
|
Maximum annual charge for families |
€125 |
The information requested by the Deputy in respect of the collected and projected fees is currently not available as Bus Éireann are continuing to review all school transport applications and services over the summer months, late applications and payments are still being received for the 2023/2024 school year.
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to abolishing school transport charges for concessionary students is not available in the manner requested by the Deputy as Bus Éireann are currently reviewing all applications received for the 2023/2024 school year. However, the average cost of providing transport on a mainstream scheme for a child to a primary or post-primary school is estimated at €1,000 per annum. Over 40,000 concessionary pupils were issued with tickets on mainstream services in the 2022/2023 school year.
Receipts from school transport charges for the 2021/22 school year amounted to approximately €12m (net of refunds issued arising from Covid related school closures).
