Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
479. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education the status of an application by a school (details supplied) for a school bus; the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47706/23]
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.
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.
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 already over 1,400 new applications have been received since July for the 2023/2024 school year.
New 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 have confirmed that this pupil is allocated to a route that it is regrettably, currently not operating due to a driver shortage. Once a driver has been sourced, the service will commence and the family will be contacted directly.
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 their website (buseireann.ie/schooltransport)
