I am, for the next couple of minutes anyway.

Parents up and down the country are feeling badly let down as thousands of children have been left without a place on school transport. Many parents who relied on this service have been left high and dry after being told their children no longer have seats on the school bus. Incredibly, the public and Deputies are being told by Bus Éireann that additional capacity is not being sought for pupils who did not secure a ticket for this school year. Meanwhile, other parents who applied and paid on time had their children lose out due to the unfair lottery nature of the scheme. Families that expected to realise savings of €500 will now instead have additional costs heaped on them as they try to find alternatives. We have a crazy situation where parents are being forced to give up work to get their children to school. This is an utter mess.

My constituency offices in Mullingar, Longford and Athlone have been inundated with communications from very worried families who have been relying on the service and now find themselves unable to get their children to school. I do not doubt that this has also been the case in the offices of the Tánaiste's colleagues. This has happened because of a Government idea that has been poorly thought out and lacking the necessary investment. At the root of this problem is the failure of the Government and of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, to plan and to deliver the required additional capacity. The Minister should have anticipated the increase in demand following the introduction of free school transport. She should have worked with Bus Éireann to deliver additional capacity to ensure no child was left behind. Instead of facing up to her part in this debacle, however, the Minister spent the last few weeks in hiding. She refused to appear before the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide answers and, more importantly, solutions for families, despite being offered no less than five alternative dates. This demonstrates a real lack of respect and understanding of the impact this situation is having. It is only now, when the school term is well under way, that the Minister has agreed to come before the joint committee.

Parents were also truly taken aback by the Tánaiste's reported comments at the Fine Gael meeting regarding the Government having made a mistake in waiving school transport fees. Waiving the school transport fees was not the mistake; the mistake was the failure to invest in the required additional capacity. Frankly, the Government has made an absolute bags of this situation. Families need solutions, and they need them now.

My Sinn Féin colleagues, Deputies Ó Laoghaire and O'Rourke, have consistently called for an additional 10,000 places on school transport. This is the level of investment necessary to get on top of this issue, to get children onto buses to get them to school and to give relief to those parents across the length and breadth of the country who are pulling their hair out with frustration. The worst part of this situation, though, is that the Government is not even trying to fix the problem. In black and white, Bus Éireann has stated that it is not looking at additional capacity for these children. The message has been loud and clear: no more buses are planned, simply get on with it.

How is the Government going to respond? What is the Government's plan to ensure that every child in need of a school bus place will get one? Will the Minister, Deputy Foley, pick up the phone and tell Bus Éireann to look for more capacity and more buses to provide more places to undo the existing chaos in the school transport system?

I thank the Deputy for her question. I am keen to answer it. This is my first time taking Leaders' Questions since the summer break, however, and I am conscious that I do so on the day that Thelma and her little brother Mikey, who died tragically in Westmeath, are being buried today in St. Mel's Cathedral in Longford. This brings to mind the other children in Ireland who died violently over the past few months. It was hard not to feel for the fact that we had so many tragedies involving children dying violently over the summer. Therefore, as we begin this new term, our thoughts are with the families and communities in Tallaght, Westmeath and Waterford who are grieving for loved ones taken too tragically and too soon. The deaths of children affect us all in ways that we can barely put into words. It is a sadness that cuts deeply because we know in our hearts that it is not the natural order of things. It breaks our hearts to have so much joy and laughter silenced in this way. Therefore, we pray for healing and peace in the days and months ahead. In this time of tragedy and terrible pain, we in this House share with the families and communities affected our sorrow, our compassion and our love. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse.

Regarding the Deputy's question, I acknowledge that school transport is a vital public service. It benefits tens of thousands of pupils and families around the country. It is really important, particularly in rural areas, in ensuring that children can get to school. We are very much aware of the concerns being expressed by parents. The Deputy can be assured that this has been the biggest issue encountered in recent weeks in the constituency offices of Deputies across the Government parties, particularly in rural constituencies. This initiative was introduced as a Government measure to help with the cost of going to school, along with an increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance and the extension of the school meals programme. The decision was made to waive all fees, saving families up to €650, relative to last year. There may be a nominal fee next year, perhaps, but that is a matter for next year. I accept that the issue this year is one of capacity.

In total, 124,000 tickets have been issued as of September, and this is an increase of 21,000 on last year. Therefore, there is a lot of extra capacity, and it is not fair to say that the Minister, Deputy Foley, did not plan for that. The additional 21,000 tickets do not represent a small number but I appreciate, however, that it may not have been enough. This capacity has been secured from Bus Éireann and it continues to process applications. It is scheduling additional services in line with the scheme's eligibility criteria. The Minister, as Deputy Clarke mentioned, is going to go before the joint committee soon and she will be happy to answer any questions Deputies have, including questions and proposals they may have concerning additional capacity and engagement with Bus Éireann.

I echo the Tánaiste's expression of sympathy regarding Mikey and Thelma. Our thoughts are with the passer-by who came to their aid, those in the medical services, the staff in the hospital and all those first responders, as well as with the children of St. Cremin's National School and the Montessori institution that the children attended. Their loss has left an indelible mark, not just on Multyfarnham and Rathowen, but extending to the wider community and across the country.

The Tánaiste mentioned the importance of school transport to rural areas. He is correct about that. He referred to the concerns of parents as well. He is again correct. He also mentioned the vital nature of the service, and he is again right in this regard. I must, however, put it to him that those 21,000 additional tickets come nowhere near meeting the demand existing in rural communities. If we are serious about tackling our carbon footprint and if we want to increase accessibility to schools, then a vital part of doing that is the school transport system. It requires fundamental reform and significant investment to ensure it is fit for purpose, not only for children now but also in future. We have an utterly bizarre situation now where staff in the regional hospital in Mullingar cannot get their children to school. What does it say about us as a society and a State that we could not simply do the maths in this regard and figure out what additional capacity was needed?

I cannot be the only TD in this room whose phone started ringing the minute that announcement was made with expressions of interest from parents. I do not doubt for one second that the Minister, Deputy Foley, received those calls also. What I do not understand and do not accept is the utter failure to plan in this regard.

As I pointed out in my initial response, there was planning and additional capacity was provided. Twenty-one thousand extra tickets this year means 21,000 more children across rural Ireland on school buses this year versus last year. That is a big increase in additional capacity and would be welcomed by many families, who did not have school transport before, now availing of it.

In line with normal practice, all eligible children who completed the application and ticket registration process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where they are in operation. For those who are eligible, we are confident that they will be accommodated. Where it comes to concessionary tickets, as the Deputy will be aware, and as is always the case, that is more complicated. That requires there to be availability and that is the issue that is arising now.

As I say, the Minister, Deputy Foley, will be before the committee and will be happy to answer questions and hear suggestions from Deputies as to how we can resolve it.