Denise Mitchell
Question:94. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Education if transport will be made available for a person (details supplied). [46840/23]
View answerWednesday, 25 October 2023
Questions (94)
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 start of the 2022/2023 school year. This number of tickets has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year.
Bus Éireann have confirmed that this pupils new service is currently in the procurement process and once a contractor has been sourced, the service will commence. They have advised that they will contact the family directly in this matter.
A Special Transport Interim Grant is available to families of children with special educational needs who, following the application process, are eligible under the terms of the school transport scheme and are 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 that families have to put place until a transport service is ready to commence.
You do not need to make an application; the School Transport Section in the Department of Education will email you directly with further details of the grant.
Bus Éireann has put in place a dedicated customer care call centre to assist families specifically with School Transport queries during this period. Families that have queries can contact the call centre on: LoCall 0818 919 910. Operating hours are usually 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday.
Families can also submit queries via the ‘contact form’ which can be found on our website (buseireann.ie/schooltransport).