School bus transport access
Deputy Kenny said promised school transport changes for concessionary pupils are not being implemented on the ground. The Minister said she would seek clarification from the Education Minister and ask the Department to revert with specifics.
I again raise the issue of school bus transport, which has been a huge problem in recent months. Thankfully, the Minister for Education recently announced she was going to introduce a system whereby children who had been on a concessionary ticket last year or who had been entitled to concessionary travel in the past would be allowed on a bus this year, with a provision put in place for that. However, my understanding, from speaking to the organisers of school transport on the ground, is that this is not happening and that one of the reasons for that is that they have been told there have to be ten or more children with concessionary tickets on the bus. Most of the buses are minibuses and there might be only 15 to 20 children on them anyway and, therefore, that would mean half of them would have to have concessionary tickets. If that rule is being applied, it simply will not work. Will the Minister get clarity on that? It is vital that every child who has a concessionary ticket and needs a school bus seat will get one.
Comment on this
I will seek clarity from the Minister for Education. I do not have the details in front of me. The Department operates this programme in conjunction with Bus Éireann. At this time, when we have greatly reduced the cost and are expanding the number of people using the service, we want to try to cover every eventuality. I will ask her Department to come back to the Deputy with the specifics on that question.