Vol. 409 No. 8
18 Mrs. Taylor-Quinn asked the Minister for Education if the consultancy study into the school transport has been completed; if so, if it will be published; and the initiatives, if any, she proposes to take arising out of the recommendations and conclusions of the report.
71 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Education the total cost of commissioning the report by a company (details supplied) on the school transport system; the reason the study was not published; if she will confirm that the study found that her Department was getting good value for its money from Bus Éireann; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 71 together.
The report to which the Deputies refer was jointly commissioned by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Seamus Brennan and myself. No decision has been taken yet on dissemination of the report, which must first be submitted to the Government.
The total cost of the report, to be met jointly by the two Departments, is estimated to be £49,000.
Are the allegations made by a worker director of Bus Éireann about more than £2 million being owed to Bus Éireann for the provision of the school transport service true, and, if so, has the money been paid in the meantime?
As the Deputy knows, the Government supply very large subsidies to Bus Éireann. I noted the remarks made by that person but I have no comment on them. My concern is that the school transport system operates safely and efficiently. Bus Éireann and the subcontractors whom they engage appear to me to be doing that job very well. If there is a minimal rise of 4 per cent, it is the first rise in the school transport charge for four years. The same person said that school transport charges would be doubled, but it is the Government that set the school transport charges, not Bus Éireann or a particular individual.
Has the Minister had any consultation or dialogue with her colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications in relation to recent reports that 600 school transport providers in the 14-seat minibus category will be put off the roads as a result of the implementation of a statutory instrument that means they must now hold a certificate of competence, they must have a special licence, and that such vehicles are from now to be categorised as coaches rather than minibuses?
The Deputy refers to the certificate of professional competency, the CPC. I do not have material on that issue with me, but I know about it because I have been approached by many people in my own constituency in that regard. The certificate of professional competency came from an EC regulation, sought to be implemented in early July, whereby anybody who did not hold such a certificate would virtually be put off the road. The Department do not directly employ those subcontractors, they are directly employed by CIE.
However, I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy Brennan, about the matter because, both from a nationwide point of view and from my own local knowledge the measures seemed to be rather peremptory. I am sure that the people involved will all be notified, but the issue became public knowledge very peremptorily. The Minister assured me just last night, and I am glad to be able to pass on the knowledge, that the deadline has been extended to 1 January 1992, so that individual operators will now have an extra six months to achieve their certificates of professional competency. Further courses for the certificate will be held in the autumn at various schools and colleges where the courses are held and operators will be able to undertake the courses or make other arrangements. I understand that different members of the families of some contractors will undertake the courses. Anyway, there is to be a six-month stay, which is good news.
Could the Minister assure the House that the report which is the subject of this question will be dealt with by the Government and published in advance of the Book of Estimates, which will contain the allocation for school transport?
The matter of the publishing of the report is a matter for the Government and the matter of when it will be disseminated will also be a matter for the Government, it is not a matter for me, although I will seek to have so done.
That disposes of questions.
