Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I join colleagues in congratulating the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, on his elevation to deputy leader of Fianna Fáil. As a fellow Fianna Fáil TD, I am delighted he has been appointed as deputy leader. From a party point of view, it is a very proud day, as it is for his community and his constituency. I know how proud he is of his country and he always tries to do what is best for his country. I offered him my congratulations.

My Topical Issue is a slightly unusual one. There are 30 students living in and around the Bantry area. Those 30 students will be going to Schull Community College next year. In this instance many of these students and families actually live much closer to Bantry. Some of them go to Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí as it stands. For the students own good and for the good of their families, as well as for reasons personal to the students, Schull is now their choice of school. That is not to take away from Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí which is a fantastic school. It is a diverse school with incredible educators.

Many of these students have sensory needs; some are autistic. Put simply, it is to do with the size of the different schools. For example, Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí has an enrolment of over 700 students which is quite large for a school in west Cork. Schull Community College has about 350 students, so it is a completely different world. It is very much a personal choice based on the well-being of the students. For that reason, and based on the fact that 30 students from the Bantry area are looking to go to Schull, it is imperative that the Government steps in and provides a bus service for this route. It makes absolutely no sense that cars would be travelling those long distances to serve that route. That is pretty much it.

I am here to represent students like Olivia, who is autistic. Unfortunately, she is having difficulty coping with the larger numbers in her current school. It is obviously a busier and much noisier place because of the extra numbers and for that reason, it makes sense for her to go to Schull. That is her choice of school. She and everyone close to her know she will fare much better there in terms of her education, personal development and social development.

I know this request is unusual. I know it is not a case of students being between two schools. There is no doubt that Bantry is the closer school, but Schull is the school that will benefit these kids most. I hope that can be delivered.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate Deputy O'Sullivan's kind words. I am taking this on behalf of our colleague the Minister, Deputy Foley. Before I address the specific issue raised, I have been asked to provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme which is managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 161,600 children are being transported daily to schools throughout the country at a cost of €382 million.

Under the current terms of the scheme, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from and are attending their nearest national school as determined by the Department. At post-primary level, children are eligible where they reside not less than 4.8 km from and are attending their nearest post-primary school as determined by the Department. Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time, which are those who apply and pay on time, are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. Children eligible for school transport but for whom no service is available may be offered the remote area grant towards the cost of making private transport arrangements. The remote area grant is also payable for eligible children who may have to travel 3.2 km or more to or from a designated pick-up or set-down point.

Temporary alleviation measures at post-primary level, which have been in place since 2019, are being continued for the 2024-25 school year. Under these measures, transport is provided where there is a route in operation and capacity exists for concessionary post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second-nearest school and who applied and paid on time. Children not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available, Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for the spare seats using an agreed selection process.

As the Deputy will know, a review of the school transport scheme was completed and published. This review was conducted with a view to examining the current scheme and it is the largest review of the scheme since it was established in 1967. The Government is committed to working to achieve the report’s recommendation of expanding access to the scheme so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030. Overall, the recommended changes to the future operation of the scheme concern the expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges, charges and grants, and moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money for the Exchequer. The scale of the scheme is significant, and any changes will take time to plan and implement. It will, therefore, be brought in on a phased basis.

As indicated at the time of the launch of the school transport review, these changes will include a wider cross-government effort between the Departments of Education and Transport and respective agencies. Planned pilot projects in the 2024-25 school year will provide valuable insights on the impact increased demand will have on the scheme, the potential to integrate public transport services with the school transport service and having more sustainable modes of transport. These insights will give an indication of the scale of planning and implementation required.

In the coming weeks, consideration will be given to having further pilots in other areas of the country. These will be considered where potential demand exists and where capacity or resources are not a particular issue. Bus Éireann has advised that in respect of the route raised by the Deputy, 17 pupils were not successful in obtaining a school bus ticket to the school in question. I note he used specific cases and feedback in the context of this route. It was said these pupils are not attending their nearest school and most pupils reside closer to Bantry, Skibbereen, Dunmanway and Kenmare. Following the payment closing date of 7 June, Bus Éireann has begun examining all applications for school transport for the 2024-25 school year. Arising from the analysis, routes may be altered, extended or withdrawn depending on the number and location of eligible children who will avail of school transport for the following year.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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The answer I got was the one I was expecting. I am, though, making a specific plea for this area. The Minister of State is absolutely correct. Bantry is a much closer school in this area. In some instances, as well, it could be Skibbereen. This is based on student needs, however, and we should always put students and what best suits them first. Unfortunately, every summer, certainly ever since I became a TD, we have had this constant battle on our hands in our constituency offices coming up to July and August. It is firefighting. New blackspots emerge concerning routes in our constituency where students and children are not being looked after.

For the past year, one of these blackspots has been in the parish in which I live, Ardfield. In this case, five concessionary students were not able to get tickets. This year, in the same parish, and these are families living around me and people among whom I am living, 18 students will be concessionary. Some of them may get tickets, but at least ten of them will be left without a bus ticket. I am not sure how I am supposed to face those families, students and people living around me if I cannot get them bus tickets. In Ardfield-Rathbarry, students either go to school in Clonakilty or in Rosscarbery. For the students I am talking about, the school in Rosscarbery is their choice. This is where their parents and their sisters went. It is where they go, but they are not getting tickets.

I will hold up this map for the Minister of State to illustrate the problem. Each pin drop on the map represents the location of one or more students in the Ardfield area. These students are all living in the same area and most of them will be left without a ticket this year unless he intervenes. I would love if he could reach out to the Minister for Education. I will also do so. I am using this time now to try to help these kids to get a ticket and a seat on a bus to go to the school that their parents and others in their families went to in Rosscarbery. It is extremely important that this happens. We cannot leave these students behind again. We left them behind last year, but they need to get sorted this year. I thank the Minister of State.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the specific difficulty being experienced by many of the students referred to by the Deputy. I will definitely reflect this issue to the Minister. Her intention and hope is that the changes being progressed from the wider review of the school transport scheme will bring about a situation that will ensure more students nationwide can qualify for and access the school transport scheme in the future. This is the wider impetus of our intention and of the collaboration I have seen between the Departments of Transport and Education in that context. I will most definitely reflect the concerns and the feedback raised by the Deputy regarding the difficulties interfacing being encountered with the current scheme and that this situation will leave students without any specific service for September.

As part of the analysis undertaken for the review, the Department has identified projected growth of pupil numbers nationally. There is wider engagement with stakeholders, including families and school communities, as part of the changes being implemented. It is intended to commence implementing revised eligibility criteria for the 2025-26 school year in addition to the pilots I referred to in my initial contribution. I will raise the feedback mentioned and bring it to the attention of the Minister in respect of the specific concerns raised by the Deputy.