482. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will revisit the recent decision to increase the maximum driving age for minibus drivers to 72 years, specifically in relation to 12 and 14-seater vehicles; and if she will consider extending similar provisions to these larger minibuses in line with the recent announcement permitting drivers over the previous age limit to operate eight-seater minibuses (details supplied). [27949/26]

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education & Youth.

The retirement age for school bus drivers has been set by Bus Éireann at 70 years of age, which also applies to all Bus Éireann road passenger services.

The Road Safety Authority, under the remit of the Department of Transport, committed to reviewing the upper age limit of drivers as it relates to larger vehicles/school buses. This review is now complete and is available on the Oireachtas website here: PAC - RSA report over 70s. Bus Éireann has no plans to amend the driver age limit for larger vehicles.

An independent review of the upper age limit of drivers as it relates to smaller vehicles has been completed. Following this review, Bus Éireann has advised of an extension to the upper age limit of drivers from age 70 to 72, for a trial period. This extension will apply to drivers of small public service vehicles (max 8 seats and driver), who are contracted by Bus Éireann under the School Transport Scheme.

Bus Éireann further advise, this decision follows extensive research, stakeholder engagement and a thorough safety review undertaken by Bus Éireann.

The trial period for this extension of the driver age limit is for two years, beginning from the start of the new school year in September 2026 and ending at the conclusion of the 2027/2028 school year in June 2028. Under the revised policy, enhanced safety measures will be implemented whereby drivers over 70 years are required to undertake an additional 6-month medical fitness assessment. Contractor compliance with conditions associated with the change to this policy will be monitored by Bus Éireann for the duration of the trial.

Bus Éireann advise that this policy change will remain under continuous review throughout the two-year trial period, with a further evaluation conducted at its conclusion to determine whether the extended age limit should be maintained or discontinued.

As part of a national focus on driver requirements, the Department of Education and Youth has facilitated a working group with the Department of Transport, Bus Éireann, and Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) to discuss the challenges and to action possible solutions to increase the availability of drivers. This group established a communications subgroup, enabled the continuation of a collaboration between Bus Éireann and ETBI at a local level.

Arising from the work mentioned above, the Department of Transport has established a Public Transport Workforce Taskforce to identify options to assist with resolving these issues.

The taskforce is chaired by the Department of Transport, which will meet on a monthly basis, and includes representatives from the school transport section in my Department, relevant transport operators and agencies, and training bodies.

The aim of the taskforce is to work collaboratively to identify contributing factors to the recruitment issues and put forward recommendations and measures to create a pipeline of workers to address these issues.