Martin Browne
Ceist:95. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Education the status of the school bus application for two pupils (details supplied). [50569/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 12 October 2022
Ceisteanna (95)
Freagraí scríofa
School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the past school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.
The children referred to by the Deputy have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine. My Department and Bus Éireann will continue to provide School Transport Scheme services in line with the process that was in place for the 2021/2022 school year for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine. Full information on the process is available on Gov.ie.
My Department has received applications for school transport from the pupils referred to by the Deputy and these applications have been submitted to Bus Éireann. Bus Éireann is currently in the process of working on transport arrangements in order to accommodate these pupils and will revert to my Department when a solution has been found.
While every effort will be made to ensure school transport services are up and running as they are required for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine, given the ongoing movement and arrival of families, it may in some cases take some time to arrange services for families as information becomes available for those who require school transport.