88. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children in Cork without special school transport for the 2026-2027 school year. [52758/26]

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department.

Under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, children are eligible for transport where they are attending the nearest recognised school that is or can be resourced to meet their special educational needs.

The National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) acts in an advisory role to my department on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs.

When the transport application has been processed by School Transport Section and it has been confirmed that the child is eligible for transport, their details are submitted to Bus Éireann who will then advise what transport options may be available.

In the 2025/26 school year, over 24,000 pupils travelled on dedicated school transport services for children with special educational needs. This figure includes over 2,700 pupils travelling on such services to schools in Cork.  Over 7,500 new applications were received for the SEN scheme nationally in the last school year.  73 pupils who were sanctioned for special transport to Cork schools were without a service at the end of the last school year, which represents less than 3% of those approved for transport in the county.  I want to assure the Deputy and the families concerned that Bus Éireann is prioritising the arrangement of transport solutions for these pupils.

Applications for the 2026/27 school year are still being processed so it is not possible to provide data at this time.

An interim Special Transport Interim Grant is available to families of pupils who are eligible under the terms of the SEN scheme and are waiting on a service to be put in place.  The grant is offered from the date of application to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements the family have to put in place until a service is ready to commence.