asked the Minister for Education if, in relation to a school transport contract (details supplied) for the conveyance of pupils from the Sneem area in County Kerry to Kenmare post-primary schools, he will state (a) the number of tenders received, (b) whether all those who tendered were considered suitable, and (c) whether the highest tender or the lowest was accepted.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Transport Service.
28.
It is not the practice to disclose details of quotations received for particular school transport contracts.
29.
asked the Minister for Education if he will ensure that the school transport provided for the Kilmacreddock/Maynooth area to Maynooth national school, County Kildare, will be continued.
This service carries 11 children to Maynooth at the moment. Five of these are in fact less than the required two miles from the national school in Leixlip and hence ineligible for school transport. The special concession of transport to Maynooth was extended in March, 1971, to them because at the time the Leixlip school was overcrowded. Due to the provision of a new school there since June, 1974, this is no longer the case. This leaves six eligible children, which is less than the requisite number under the rules to sustain a primary school service. A check by CIE has in fact indicated that two of these six are nearer to Leixlip than Maynooth and hence also ineligible for service to Maynooth, thus reducing the number to four. Regrettably, therefore, under the rules and in the light of the above information, the special service falls to be withdrawn. It will however be retained until Easter. It may be added incidentally that there is a scheduled suburban number 66 bus service travelling both ways between Leixlip and Maynooth which is reasonably available to many of the children involved.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary not agree that in the case of pupils who up to now are attending a particular school in Maynooth, it would be unfair, just because the new school is built in Leixlip nearer to their home, to disrupt their education by asking them to attend a different school? Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that pupils who travel this road have to travel on a narrow laneway which is not capable of carrying two cars and that there is a level crossing there? Is he further aware that bus time and train time practically coincide?
This special concession was initiated because a unique situation of overcrowding existed in Leixlip. Children were, so to speak, taken from the Leixlip area into the Maynooth area on a special service because there was no accommodation in Leixlip. That situation no longer obtains. In relation to these children continuing their education, I am informed that a scheduled service passing along the main road, as the Deputy knows, goes fairly regularly in the Leixlip/Maynooth direction and vice-versa. I imagine that some, at least, of these children should be able to avail of this service in order to get to Leixlip if they so desire.
Surely the Deputy, with his proximity to this area, would agree that Kilmacreddock Road cul-de-sac is not near any bus route and that the only construction the people in the area can put on this is that a service which was provided by us when we were in Government, because of the penny-pinching policies of the present Government, is being discontinued?
In relation to the distance of the children in question from the scheduled service, I understand that five of these children are under one mile from the service, that is, the scheduled service.
30.
asked the Minister for Education why two children (details supplied) aged six and five years, respectively, who had enjoyed school transport to Portarlington Convent School, County Laois from July to December, 1974, were denied transport on the reopening of school after the Christmas holiday period; and why the parents have not been supplied with transport tickets in respect of these children.
These children never had free school passes to Portarlington. Under the terms of the free transport scheme, transport is normally allowed only to the nearest national school. As a suitable transport service operates past the Murray home to Walsh Island national school their nearest national school, it would appear that transport to Portarlington Convent national school cannot be allowed for these children. However, the matter is still being investigated and I will communicate with the Deputy as soon as possible.
Question No. 31 postponed.
32.
asked the Minister for Education if he has any proposals for the provision of school transport for eligible pupils of Knockananna national school, County Wicklow.
An application for a transport service to cater for eligible pupils in Knockaboley, Rathshanmore and Mullins districts has been received and is being granted subject to the usual conditions.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary tell me when this was granted?
Quite recently.
Might I ask the Parliamentary Secretary to be a little more specific on this?
The Deputy can but I cannot answer.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware——
Question No. 33.
I cannot say precisely —within the past week.
Question No. 33.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware of my request of the 27th September, 1974, in this matter? Here are the representations I made on the 27th September, 1974.
Question No. 33 has been called.
I have information here to the effect that Deputy Godfrey Timmins was involved in this case early in December last. I do not have information in relation to Deputy C. Murphy's representations.
I think I heard the Parliamentary Secretary say December. Is that correct?
Yes.
Might I give the Parliamentary Secretary a copy of my letter of 27th September, 1974, to which I am still awaiting a reply?
I have called Question No. 33. Will the Deputy allow questions to proceed? Deputy C. Murphy must resume his seat.
33.
asked the Minister for Education if he will now arrange with CIE to provide a transport service which has been sanctioned for some time to Cappaboy national school, County Cork.
Sanction was given for a service which would cater for the districts of Cappaboy North, Maulavanig and Lackareagh, to the west of the school, in April, 1971. CIE have so far been unable to secure a contractor to implement the service.
34.
asked the Minister for Education when free transport will be provided for children (details supplied) to Granlahan national school, County Roscommon.
CIE are being requested to provide transport facilities to Granlahan national school for these children.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary be a little more specific because these children have been waiting for this transport since July, 1974. Could he tell me when transport will be provided in this case?
I think fairly soon.
How soon is fairly soon?
In the near future.
1975.
35.
asked the Minister for Education why transport facilities for three children (names supplied) to Drumindoora national school, County Clare, have been discontinued.
When Gurtaveha school was closed on 30th June, 1969, transport was provided for the children from the closed school area to Drumindoora national school. The children mentioned in the question were facilitated on this service. However, in May, 1974, the children from the Gurtaveha closed school district were transferred to the new central school at Flagmount and the service to Drumindoora ceased. It was then no longer possible to facilitate the children mentioned in the question. The only facilities which are now available for them are on a Gort post-primary service from a point about one mile from their home; unfortunately, this service is not suitable from a time point of view.
The children had facilities from their very door. We put this question to the Minister a couple of weeks ago when we were furnished incorrect information. There are enough children in the area to qualify for facilities again.
Regarding the bus from Gort going to a secondary school, that is a bus going to collect children in the morning. Would it be possible that that bus could collect the children and give the same facilities they had before even if it means collecting them two hours earlier in the morning and two hours later in the evening? Would it be possible to have the bus collect them where they were collected before and not be going back on our steps with regard to the facilities the children did have? Could we have those facilities again even at an earlier hour in the morning and a later hour in the evening?
The Gort service is available as it is subject to the difficulty in relation to time, at about a distance of one mile.
That is for a secondary school.
I should say that apparently the difficulty in this case arose from the fact that the Gurtaveha school district was temporarily amalgamated with that of Drumindoora. The service was passing along the road by these children's houses. These children do not live in the Gurtaveha school district. The Gurtaveha school district was transfered to the Flagmount school district. The amalgamation with Drumindoora, which was a temporary arrangement only, was suspended and the area was amalgamated with that of the Flagmount school. As a result of that, the service is now going in a different direction and no longer happens to be passing their door.
It did not happen to be passing their door. It went to the door for them. However, could the Parliamentary Secretary provide the children with the services they had formerly in having them collected at their own door?
I will see what can be done to improve the situation.
36.
asked the Minister for Education why school buses are no longer available for children from Cavan town to Loreto College, Cavan, to Cavan post-primary school and to St. Patrick's College, Cavan.
The children in question are not entitled to free transport under the terms of the free transport scheme as they reside less than three miles from the schools which they are attending. They were, however, allowed fare-paying facilities subject to the usual conditions, i.e. that there were spare seats on the bus after all those who were entitled to free transport had been accommodated and that no extra cost was involved. This year more tickets for fare payers were issued by CIE's local office than there were spare seats available on the buses. To get over this difficulty a bus on stand-by in Cavan town was used by CIE but this bus had subsequently to be withdrawn by the company which is apparently obliged under an agreement with the unions to maintain a stand-by bus in Cavan for emergencies. The difficulties created by the withdrawal of this bus have been temporarily shelved by a rerouting of school buses. It will be necessary in future years to ensure that the number of fare paying tickets issued does not exceed the number of spare seats available on the school buses.
37.
asked the Minister for Education if, in view of the unsatisfactory transport services from the Liscarton and Tankardstown areas to Navan national school, County Meath, he will have a separate school bus service provided for the children from those areas.
I understand that on Monday mornings there is sometimes an accommodation problem on the scheduled service which these children use. The situation is being examined with a view to having the difficulty resolved as soon as possible.
I understand there is overcrowding on quite a number of mornings. I think an inspector of the Department has been out on a couple of occasions examining the route. Would the Parliamentary Secretary now try to see if a new service could be provided there because, on one morning, four children were left behind and could not be taken on the bus?
The information that has come to me officially is that the crowding occurs on Monday mornings only because, as the Deputy knows, there are lots of people from Cavan using that bus to come up for the week who would not be using the service daily. I understand that a special examination of the service on the Monday morning is being carried out next week to see the extent of the problem. If the Deputy can supply me with information indicating that this problem exists on other days of the week, we shall have that examined too.
38.
asked the Minister for Education if he will recommend to CIE that school buses be made available to local communities at weekends for transport purposes of various organisations which may seek their hire.
School buses are utilitarian type vehicles specially designed for school work only and are not suitable for ordinary transport requirements. Moreover, the taxation regulation which applied to these vehicles up to now was such as to prohibit their use for any purpose other than the carriage of children to and from school. Following a recent change in this regulation, made at my request, a scheme is in preparation under which it will be possible for school authorities to hire these buses at favourable rates to bring pupils to school games and other related physical education events. I hope to be in a position shortly to announce details of this scheme. It is not, however, open to me to extend the use of these buses outside of school-related pupil activities.
Do I understand the Parliamentary Secretary to say that the buses are suitable for pupils but not for people? Would he elaborate on that?
I did not say that. I said that:
School buses are utilitarian type vehicles specially designed for school work only and are not suitable for ordinary transport requirements....
Is it not odd that a bus capable of carrying pupils up to leaving certificate standard cannot carry adults?
That is a separate question.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary not agree with me?
There are obvious limits to the uses to which these buses can be put. They cannot be used in the same way as ordinary CIE buses.
Is there anything to prevent them being used to take people to football matches on Sundays?
Their use is being extended to include school-related physical educational events. That is a considerable advance and is a purpose for which these buses are reasonably suited. Apart from the structure of these vehicles, there are other problems in relation to extending their use.