asked the Minister for Education the mileage allowance paid by his Department to CIE for school transport, and by CIE to private school bus owners.

CIE are paid for providing school transport not on a mileage basis but on the basis of the total audited expenditure they incur in doing so. I am informed that, in making contracts with individual bus owners, CIE take into consideration not only the mileage involved but also the nature of the routes to be undertaken and a number of other relevant factors. Payment is not at a standard rate per mile.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary like to state what percentage of the total amount voted does the private transport man get?

As against the number of CIE buses being used? The only information I can give the Deputy is the number of buses in use. CIE employ approximately 1,630 vehicles belonging to private contractors. Their own special school bus fleet amounts to 881 buses. There may be variations in size between the different types of bus and those figures must be read with caution.

I have not got very much information from the Parliamentary Secretary.

The Deputy's question relates to the mileage allowance. If he wants more information about the percentage, which is a separate issue, he should put down a separate question.

I accept that. The Parliamentary Secretary is in his informative mood again. Does the private bus owner get less than CIE get for the same kind of work? The private owners are convinced that is so.

The situation is obviously quite different because the CIE buses are paid for out of the general budget of CIE and the buses are the property of CIE. Payments in connection with those buses are incorporated in their general accounts whereas, in the case of private contractors, each contractor is paid a specific amount of money for his route.

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