School Transport

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 September 2020

Wednesday, 30 September 2020

Ceisteanna (127)

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

127. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education further to report No. 98 of the Comptroller and Auditor General on school transport, if she will provide the exact figures that the Bus Éireann directors and auditors determined as profit in each year for school transport that was actually credited to the statutory financial statement in the profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement in each of the years 2010 to 2016, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27469/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education.  In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over €219m in 2019.

The 1975 Summary of Accounting Arrangements form the basis of the payment to Bus Éireann for the operation of the School Transport Scheme.  In this regard, the Department reimburses Bus Éireann for a range of costs incurred in the operation and administration of the scheme.  Re-imbursement to Bus Éireann is on a cost recovery basis and there is no profit. Actual expenditure is finalised in the Bus Éireann annual statement of account which is independently audited by the Bus Éireann auditors in accordance with the 1975 Summary of Accounting Arrangements.  Balances, where they occur, are accounted for in the following year’s projected cost.

The Bus Éireann audited accounts are available on my Department's website.