Vol. 225 No. 2
asked the Minister for Education if he is prepared to provide the same transport facilities for the children of Keel and Dooagh who are attending Cashel vocational school, Achill, County Mayo, as are available to the children in what is termed the Gaeltacht portion of the island.
124.
asked the Minister for Education if he is aware that persons, including agricultural labourers, are paying sums of up to £2 14 per week for transport for their children to secondary school from Upperchurch to Borrisoleigh, County Tipperary; and if, in view of the great effort which these people are making to provide their children with secondary education, he will endeavour to aid them by any means in his power.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 124 together.
I fully appreciate that the cost of transport to post-primary schools imposes a heavy burden on parents in rural areas and I am at present examining this whole question to see what can be done.
In an effort to be helpful to the Minister, might I suggest that in considering this question of transport, he should consider fixing, as it were, some sort of mileage basis rather than tenders where the local van owners send in cut-throat tenders and then no sooner is one man established than he comes to me or somebody else to get an increase arranged for him?
A mileage rate?
A mileage rate or something standard. Admittedly, that might subsequently cause difficulty in selecting the person but it is something to be considered.
I appreciate the point which the Deputy is putting. As far as I know, the position is that when a tender is sought, the itinerary is worked out and the number of miles is specified on the tender form. Now, it might well be that an extra number of children might come in in a certain area and there might be rerouting and there would have to be an adjustment of the tender price.
There are cases of difficulty where the number of pupils increases. The insurance on the local minibus covers only a certain number. I know it is a very complicated matter.
It is one of the most complicated matters in education.
Does the Minister appreciate the real problem which arises is in regard to the categories of children, where some are from the Fíor-Ghaeltacht and other from the Breac-Ghaeltacht and others from I do not know where and they themselves do not know? There are different systems of transport involved and if the Minister is going into the whole matter, I should like him to consider this aspect, particularly in the case of Achill.
I had a case—with which Deputy James Tully is conversant—where on the one bus we had a large number of national schoolchildren, a certain number of secondary school children and again a large number of vocational schoolchildren.
I am sure the Minister will remember that he promised to give us a reply on the Friday of that week. I wonder if he has made up his mind yet?
I do not think I said the Friday.
Yes, Friday.
I should be surprised if I said that. I thought it was some time ahead.
