Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 February 2024
140. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education if parents of pupils who had no school bus service from October to February (details supplied) will be eligible for the remote area grant for the period the bus service was suspended; if they will have to make an application for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8503/24]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02m.
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.
Bus Éireann has advised that in recent months they issued tickets for school transport on bus services that had been secured for the 2023/24 school year. Unfortunately, a number of difficulties arose in having services in place in some localities with a small number of contracted services.
Bus Éireann continues to work intensively to ensure that transport arrangements are put in place as soon as possible, and every effort is being made to ensure transport can be sourced and put in place as soon as possible.
For families who have been issued with tickets on board one of these services affected, the Department is sanctioning an interim arrangement to assist with the cost of alternative arrangements until your service is in place.
The Exceptional No Service Interim Grant will be made available to families retrospectively. This payment will be paid as an exceptional measure and will be calculated from the date the service ceased up to the date that a service is provided these children. As the payment is based on the number of days a child attends school up until the time the service has commenced, it cannot be paid in advance.
This grant is linked to ticket holders for the number of days that these children attended school from the date the service ceased until the school transport service commenced.
The School Transport section is currently liaising with Bus Éireann to obtain the details of the pupils affected.
A sanction letter will issue to those families in due course.
