Last month, I raised with the Minister for Education an issue around school transport eligibility for families forced to move to temporary accommodation due to the continuing mica crisis in Donegal. The Minister committed to ensuring, as she put it, scheme flexibility in this regard, yet Bus Éireann, which administers the scheme, in reply to the same query said there can be no such flexibility. Which is it? Both answers cannot be true. To be honest, I am losing what little faith I have in the Minister. She previously and earnestly committed in this House to examining Donegal ETB’s submission for additional mental health resourcing in the context of mica. The ETB, in a letter to Donegal Deputies last week, described its disappointment and frustration and it viewed the lack of funds and resources offered as unacceptable.

I know the Taoiseach is going to Donegal this weekend so maybe he can bring good news and say the Department of Education will support the mental health of students involved in the mica crisis. That would be welcome to them.

I will pursue those two issues. I do not see why there cannot be flexibility in terms of school transport. Any child that is displaced and needs access to school should be provided for. In terms of the broad range of education and well-being supports, substantial resources have been made available in the past year to education to provide well-being supports and it should be within the capacity of ETBs to facilitate children in that situation.