24. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the school transport scheme will recognise designated feeder schools (details supplied) for the purpose of eligibility; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54200/26]

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

It is recognised that the School Transport Scheme is vital to families and continues to support pupils living in rural and remote areas, children and young people with additional needs.

The scheme is demand-led based on the number of eligible children who apply and pay on time. Families are required to register their details on the Bus Éireann Family Portal to have their eligibility for transport assessed and to make applications under the scheme.

A recent review of the scheme found that having a fee helps make better use of resources and prevents seats on school buses from going unused, which in turn helps to protect and sustain the scheme for all families who need it. However, the School Transport Scheme remains heavily subsidised by the State, with over 92% of the overall cost covered.

In order to ensure value for money, school transport fees will need to be considered again in the context of Budget 2027.

A number of changes to the School Transport Scheme were introduced in Budget 2011, which derived from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the Scheme. These changes encompassed a number of elements including the cessation of catchment boundary areas to determine eligibility at post primary level. For that reason, for the past 15 years, the eligibility criteria has been that a pupil must be attending their closest school and meet the distance criteria to be deemed eligible for school transport.

The current terms of the Scheme will continue to apply for the 2026/2027 school year in which primary school children are eligible if they live 3.2 km or more from their nearest national school and post-primary school children are eligible if they live 4.8 km or more from their nearest post-primary school or education centre.

These rules also take into account the language and ethos of the school.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats. There may be more demand than availability for concessionary seats.

Once routes have been finalised, Bus Éireann will assign tickets for each school transport service.