Vol. 483 No. 2
150 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department will review the school transport arrangements for a school (details supplied) in County Wexford whereby a defunct national school in 1970 has a catchment area applying to another primary school, which in effect means that children from the school's parish are ineligible for school transport; and if his Department will provide a school transport service as none exists for this school. [19970/97]
Under the terms of the primary school transport scheme, primary school children for whom a closed national school would have been the nearest, had it remained open, are eligible for transport to the school of amalgamation only.
The children referred to by the Deputy live in a closed school area and are eligible for free transport to the school of amalgamation only. The school these pupils attend is not their nearest school by reference to amalgamation. Therefore, the most they may be offered, in accordance with the terms of the primary school transport scheme, is free transport on an existing service which operates from this catchment area to the school of amalgamation.
Accordingly, I regret that it is not open to my Department to establish a transport service for the school as requested.
