1542. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of pupils currently deemed ineligible for school transport despite attending the nearest school in which they could obtain a place; and if she will consider amending the eligibility criteria to reflect school admissions constraints rather than geographic proximity alone. [63984/26]

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth that has expanded significantly over the past six years. In that time, the numbers of children and young people using the service have grown from under 120,000 pupils in 2018 to over 181,000 pupils including over 24,000 pupils with Special Educational Needs in 2025 which equates to an increase of over 50%. Since 2018, investment in the scheme has more than doubled, from €200 million to €537 million.

In the 2025/26 school year in excess of 151,000 pupils availed of mainstream school transport services, of which in excess of 49,000 were deemed ineligible. This cohort, while deemed ineligible, availed of tickets for the school year on a 'concessionary' basis which means that where spare capacity existed on a service tickets were made available to achieve value for money.

In cases where families have applied to attend their nearest schools with regard to ethos and language and have been advised by the school authorities that these schools are full, the Department will consider if the pupil(s) is eligible to the next nearest school.

While the closest school(s) may be full to capacity at present, each family must supply the documents mentioned below, to School Transport Section of the Department of Education and Youth.

• an application for enrolment was made within the deadline dates specified by the school(s), and

• a letter from each of the school authorities confirming that the school was full.

These can be sent to School Transport Section. Contact details for the section can be found at:

www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/services/school-transport/#school-transport-customer-contact-form

The School Transport 2030 report was published in early 2024. The recommended changes to the schemes include expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money to the Exchequer.

It was outlined at the time the Review was published that the proposed changes to the eligibility criteria would further increase demand for the scheme. Therefore, it was considered prudent to implement the changes on a phased basis.

Due to ongoing challenges in the wider transport sector, including availability of drivers and vehicles, any expansion of services must be carefully planned and phased. 25 pilot projects are considered in select areas to test revised eligibility criteria, these pilots are limited in scope and capacity.

An evaluation of the pilots in the 2025/2026 school year is currently underway. The findings from the evaluation should guide the planning and implementation needed for a national rollout of a revised School Transport Scheme, subject to availability of resources.