Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2023
328. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Education if she is aware that special education bus services for many students with additional needs have been stopped; the reason for this; if she will engage with the Department of Transport to have this vital service reinstated for service users; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42677/23]
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.
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.
Under the terms of the Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, children are eligible for transport where they are attending the nearest recognised school that is or can be resourced to meet their special educational needs.The National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) acts in an advisory role to the Department on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs. A pupil with special educational needs is eligible for school transport if they are attending the nearest recognised: mainstream school, special class / special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet the child's special educational needs under Department of Education criteria.
Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO).
There was a 30% increase in the number of special educational transport journeys from 2019 to the 2022/2023 school year, and over 1,400 new applications have been received since July alone for the 2023/2024 school year.
Applications for the 2023/2024 school year will be catered for through a mix of new services (some being individual), children being accommodated on existing services where capacity exists, extensions of existing routes and grants to families.
Bus Éireann has reported that unfortunately, for a small number of families assigned to Special Educational Needs transport services that had been secured, difficulties have arisen in some localities with a small number of contracted services.
Bus Éireann School Transport team is working intensively to ensure that transport arrangements are put in place as soon as possible. Bus Éireann is engaging with families where transport was sanctioned and where there may be delays in securing a new service.
A Special Transport Interim Grant has been offered to families of children with special educational needs who, following the application process, are eligible under the terms of the school transport scheme and were awaiting a School Transport service to be put in place.
This grant is a once off payment. The interim grant is offered from the date of application to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements the family had put in place until a transport service is ready to commence.
Applications for SEN transport are received on a year round basis. Where a new service is sanctioned, this means a procurement / vetting process is required, while in many instances the school is also sanctioned to employ a transport escort and this necessarily takes time to put in place. By accepting applications year round, the Department can ensure that children with special educational needs receive the transport they require.
