1317. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a breakdown of the applications received for the school transport scheme in each of the past five years, broken down by applications received, successful applications receiving a full ticket, successful applications receiving a concessionary ticket, unsuccessful applications, provided broken down by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57736/26]

1318. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of applications for the school transport scheme that were refused for each of the past five years, broken down by reason for refusal and by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57737/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1317 and 1318 together.

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. Since 2018, the number of students using school transport has increased by 54%, rising from almost 118,000 students in 2018 to 181,000 students in 2025.

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: buseireann.ie/schooltransport/

A minimum number of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits.

The portal for School Transport applications for the 2026/27 school year closed on 08 May to allow Bus Éireann to plan and assign routes for the upcoming school year. The portal reopened on 03 July, but any applications or payments made after this date will be deemed as late and will not be assessed until all “on time” applications have been processed.

While the closing dates may vary from year to year, the principle of how applications are treated has remained the same over the past five years:

• Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time have been accommodated on school transport services where such services were in operation.

• Children who are not eligible but complete the application process on time have been considered for spare seats that are available once all eligible children are accommodated, otherwise known as concessionary seats.

• Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places. In these cases, each year Bus Éireann allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.

• Where pupils have been unsuccessful in receiving tickets on a concessionary basis over the last five years, the family would be notified by Bus Éireann and a refund would issue.

The data requested by the Deputy is provided in the attached tables. Please note that data is based on the number of on time paid applications received and does not take into account applications received after the closing date. The reason that on time concessionary applicants were unsuccessful was because there were no seats available after eligible pupils were accommodated and/or they did not receive a seat following the agreed selection process.

Ticket Tables