Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2019
39. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to review the school transport system, in particular the system for the allocation of concessionary tickets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2726/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
There are currently over 117,500 children, including over 13,000 children with special educational needs, transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The purpose of the 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.
Children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria, are attending their nearest school and it is economically feasible to provide a service.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the current school year where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated - these are often referred to as concessionary places. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets for the spare seats on the basis of an agreed selection process.
The terms of the scheme (which are regularly communicated) make it clear that places for ineligible children are not guaranteed for the duration of a child's education.
Under the terms of the scheme, routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for ineligible children. Making exceptions to this would effectively create an open ended scheme with unquantified exposure to the exchequer and the taxpayer for the resulting cost. The terms of the scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
I am keeping the matter of concessionary transport under review, taking account of available resources and the need to ensure value for money within the scheme.
