Under the terms of the primary school transport scheme, only eligible children qualify for free transport. To be eligible, children must live at least two miles from and be attending their nearest national school. If a child is not eligible for free transport on distance grounds, he or she may avail of concessionary fare-paying transport subject to there being room available on the service to that school.
All vehicles operating under the school transport scheme are required to meet the statutory regulations as laid down by the Department of Transport. Where vehicles have more than eight adult seats and are more than one year old, they are required to pass that Department's annual roadworthiness test.
Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport service on behalf of my Department, places special emphasis on safety and has a wide range of checking procedures in place to ensure a safe and reliable service. These are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that standards are maintained. Approximately 2,900 vehicles are used in the school transport fleet. About 2,300 of these are provided by private contractors and the balance by Bus Éireann. Since January 2002, Bus Éireann has replaced more than 200 older school buses, thereby improving the quality of buses in service.
Every effort is made by my Department and Bus Éireann to provide an efficient and effective transport service for children with special needs. Approximately 30% of my Department's annual allocation for school transport is expended on transport costs for children with special needs, who represent about 6% of the total number of children carried under the school transport scheme.
The Deputy will appreciate that transport services for both primary and post-primary children must be co-ordinated and bus routes planned in such a way as to provide the most efficient and cost-effective transport service, bearing in mind that the cost of school transport has more than doubled since 1997 to a current cost of €110.471 million.
