There has been much conversation in respect of the cost of living. I wish to raise the issue of school transport and, in particular, the plight of about 20 families who live in the small village of Kilnaleck in County Cavan. I have before me the petition of at least 20 families, all of which have at least two or three children attending schools in Cavan town. Cavan town is the families' second choice when it comes to school transport. The Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, recently commissioned a body of work with Bus Éireann to perhaps provide students with their second option. I ask the Minister to please expedite that. These families are paying up to €1,400 extra for a private bus service to bring the children to Cavan town. That should not be necessary. They should have a second option available to get them to school. In these times, with the increase in the cost of living, the situation for these families is unsustainable. This is not a new problem; it has existed in Kilnaleck for several years. It is important that we support these families to get their children to school every day.

Every Deputy is aware that there are real difficulties in school transport, particularly outside the Dublin area, where that service is not available. There are exemptions, but there are also problems where people do not fit in with a particular system. The Minister for Education is doing a lot of work on that. I recently made the point to her that Local Link services could connect in or have a potential role in helping to co-ordinate that. That may already apply in Cavan. One of the things we need to start considering, in the context of school transport and transport for the health service, is connecting with the strength we have in the Local Link system. That might be one of the ways of starting to get more choice and variation. I will ask the Minister for Education to look specifically at the case in Kilnaleck in order to see if something can be done.