1569. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason for the delay in arranging school transport for children attending special schools and autism classes for the 2026/2027 school year; the reason adequate preparations were not made in advance to ensure transport services were operational when schools reopened; the steps being taken to urgently provide suitable transport for affected children; and the measures that will be implemented to ensure similar delays do not occur in the future. [64047/26]

1573. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason for the delay in arranging school transport for children attending special schools and autism classes for the 2026/27 school year; the reason adequate preparations were not made in advance to ensure transport services were operational when schools reopened; the steps being taken to urgently provide suitable transport for affected children; and the measures that will be implemented to ensure similar delays do not occur in the future. [64048/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1569 and 1573 together.

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

Under the terms of my Department's 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 acts in an advisory role to the Department on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs. Under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, the Department will consider the report of the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO).

School transport is provided to children with special educational needs who are attending the nearest school to their place of residence that is or can be resourced to meet their educational needs, as identified by the SENO.

Bus Éireann are required to tender services in line with procurement guidelines and are responsible for the allocating and vetting of a contractor to operate each service. Once a contractor has been sourced, the service will commence and Bus Éireann will liaise with families directly at that stage.

In the 2025/26 school year, over 24,000 children and young people travelled on dedicated school transport services for children with special educational needs. For the 2026/27 school year, an additional 5,700 applications for new pupils have been received to date, and applications continue to be received on a daily basis throughout the year.

For some families, transport arrangements for the upcoming school year have not yet been finalised. This is due to the above referenced increase in applications received this year, which has resulted in longer processing times, as well as challenges in securing transport providers for some routes.

Bus Éireann is working intensively to put transport services in place as quickly as possible and is engaging directly with affected families.

Both the Department and Bus Éireann are very conscious of the challenges faced by parents awaiting transport for students with special educational needs. In such circumstances where there is no existing suitable service available to meet a child's needs, and while Bus Éireann are in the process of sourcing a specialised school transport service, the Department will offer a Special Transport Grant (STG) to families of eligible children towards the cost of private transport arrangements based on the number of days attended from the date of application until a suitable dedicated specialised service becomes available.