Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
577. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the exploratory work carried out regarding the reintroduction of free travel for students; and if he will provide a costing for the proposal. [34558/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently over 116,000 children, including over 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,500 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
The annual charge for school transport services is €100 per annum for primary children and €350 for post primary children with a maximum family charge of €220 for primary children only or €650 overall. Children who are eligible for school transport and who hold valid medical cards (GMS Scheme) are exempt from paying the annual charge.
In Addition, there is no charge for children who are eligible for school transport under the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme for children with Special Educational Needs.
There are no plans to change the current charges for the 2018/19 school year.
The terms of the School Transport Schemes are applied equitably on a national basis.
