Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 October 2023
120. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education the total parental contribution made for school transport for primary and post-primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43021/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 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 were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
The School Transport Scheme is an important service for families and children. The purpose of the 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.
There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023/2024 school year in comparison to the 2022/2023 school year.
Already over 133,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the 2022/2023 school year. The number of tickets issued so far has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year.
It is not possible to provide the information requested by the Deputy at present as Bus Éireann continue to issue tickets to families as capacity becomes available.
For the 2023/2024 school year, reduced charges of €50 per student at primary level and €75 per student at post-primary level will apply, with a cap per family of €125. 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. Children who are eligible for transport who are in receipt of medical cards, and children eligible for special educational needs transport continue to be exempt from ticket charges.
