Vol. 550 No. 4
49 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason he is not providing school transport to Kilnademna national school for persons (details supplied) as part of an agreement when Sonnagh national school, Kilchreest, was closed and guaranteed transport was provided for families in the area at that time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9179/02]
The Sonnagh school closed in 1959 and pupils were transferred to Kilnadeema national school. The school transport scheme was not established until 1967. While a service previously operated from Sonnagh past the home of the pupils in question, my Department could not have given a definitive commitment to provide transport from Sonnagh village from 1959 onwards. The matter was last considered in 1998. The family concerned resided 1.3 miles from the nearest pick-up point. My Department was prepared to allow an extension of the existing service to bring the family to within 0.8 miles of the pick-up point. The family, however, indicated to Bus Éireann that this would not be acceptable.
As a rule, primary school transport routes are planned so that, as far as possible, no eligible child will have more than 1.5 miles to travel to a pick-up point. Pupils living off the main route of a service are generally expected to make their own way, or to be brought to convenient pick-up points along the main route. Home pick-ups were never envisaged as being part of the school transport scheme as the cost involved on a countrywide level would be prohibitive.
