1304. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the case of a person (details supplied); the status of the school bus ticket application; if the application will be reconsidered given the circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62409/26]

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

Bus Éireann has confirmed that the pupil, to whom the Deputy refers, is attending the 3rd nearest post primary school from where the family reside and was not successful in receiving a ticket for the 2026/2027 school year.

Under the current terms of the School Transport Schemes, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Where a child is eligible for transport and the application and payment process has been completed on time, they will get a seat on a school bus service, where a service is available, this includes public scheduled services.

Where a child is not eligible for school transport, but the application and payment process has been completed on time, they will be considered for any spare seats available after eligible children have been accommodated.

There may be more demand than availability for pupils who are not eligible for school transport. In such cases, Bus Éireann will use a selection process to allocate tickets for the spare seats.