Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2024
260. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No.246 of 25 January 2024, if her Department will engage with Dublin Bus in talks to pursue a similar scheme to Bus Éireann to provide free travel for children, given the costs incurred by parents living in the city and the increased benefits in terms of school attendance and reducing private transport use in the city. [4848/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02m.
There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023/2024 school year in comparison to the 2022/2023 school year.
In my recent response to the Deputy I set out the terms of the scheme, including details of the annual ticket cost for families. The scheme does not provide free travel for children availing of transport on the primary and post-primary schemes unless they hold a valid medical card. In addition, eligible children with special educational needs are exempt from paying the annual charge.
As previously advised, the Department has recently completed a review of the School Transport Scheme and the final report includes recommendations on the future operation of the scheme.
