Pearse Doherty
Question:193. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education if she will ensure that a school bus ticket can be provided for a child (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45917/23]
View answerThursday, 19 October 2023
Questions (193)
Written answers
The 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.
Already over 133,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the same time last year. This number of tickets has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that the pupil to whom the Deputy refers is mainstream eligible to their selected school. However, a late application for school transport was made in September 2023 for the 2023/24 School year and there is currently no available seat on the service for the pupil to avail of.
However, if a seat does become available, Bus Éireann will contact the family directly.