Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Distance eligibility is determined by Bus Éireann by measuring the shortest traversable route from the child's home to the relevant school.
For measurement purposes the shortest traversable route between the child's home and the relevant school may be either a pedestrian or vehicular route, and it is not necessarily the route that a school bus might take.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that there are in fact two nearer national schools to the family referred to by the Deputy.