Bus Éireann has agreed to carry out a review of the school bus service in order to comply with the 50% capacity ruling. It was expected that it would take five or six weeks and that additional buses would be provided to resolve the dreadful situation in which many families who do not have access to buses find themselves, as well as assisting beleaguered private bus operators. We now hear from Bus Éireann that the review may take up to 12 weeks, which would bring us up to Christmas.

Many balls have been dropped by Bus Éireann throughout this process. I am aware of numerous children with special needs who, four weeks into the school term, still have not been able to attend school because Bus Éireann has not finalised the provision of transport for them. I acknowledge it will take money to sort out this crisis but the reality is that money invested will trickle down to private operators if Bus Éireann can get its act together. It is a semi-State company and it is important that, as such, it steps up to the plate at a time of national crisis. It receives more than €40 million in State subvention each year. Its handling of this crisis thus far has been disgraceful.

I call Deputy Martin Kenny on the same matter.

The school bus transport problems in rural Ireland are diabolical. Constituents based in various parts of the country have contacted me because they cannot go to work, as they must bring their children to school. Many other people have been keeping their children home from school because there is no school bus available. There was a lack of organisation to deal with the problems caused by Covid. Initially, people could not get tickets. When they did get tickets, there was no space for them on the bus. They were then told the rules had changed. This is a crisis affecting ordinary families who are doing their best. There were problems before Covid and those problems have multiplied. An effort needs to be made to step up to the mark and recognise that families with schoolgoing children in all parts of the country, not just in urban areas, have a right to a school transport system.

I am not sure from where the 12-week figure referenced by Deputy Flaherty in the context of a delay in Bus Éireann completing the review comes. My understanding is that the Department of Education and Skills will be coming to the Government within a much shorter timeframe with a review of the further changes we need to make to the public school transport system in response to the health advice. The system Bus Éireann and the Department set up in very difficult circumstances responded effectively and in a timely manner, with procedures and mechanisms to ensure children would be safe on buses as well as in their schools. Due to the unfortunate spike in numbers in the second half of August and early September, which no one could control or manage, further health advice provided a short time before schools were due to return stated that further spacing should be catered for in order to follow public health advice to the letter. The Government made a decision to proceed with the plans that had been put in place because it was critical to get children back to school. That was the right decision. It was critical that children returned to school. There are and have been real difficulties, as all Members acknowledge. There are always difficulties with regard to the school transport system, such as schoolchildren not having the relevant concession. The Government agreed to see whether it could contract several hundred additional buses in order to meet the further health advice. That is what the Department of Education and Skills is now doing. I expect it to revert to the Government on the matter in the not too distant future and the House will be updated on that basis.