Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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216. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure that children (details supplied) who have availed of school transport to their secondary schools for the past four and five years continue to be provided with transport, which is their only means of getting to school; if she will review the circumstances of this case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46564/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

The normal eligibility criteria of the scheme still apply and tickets continue to be allocated in line with this criteria. Pupils at primary level are eligible where they live no less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school. At post primary level, students who live no less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre are deemed eligible.

Any pupils/students who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, or otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.

In line with normal practice, all eligible children who completed the application and ticket registration process on time for the 2022/2023 school year will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Bus Éireann has advised that this family referred to by the Deputy are not eligible for school transport under the terms of the school transport scheme and were unsuccessful in obtaining a seat on board a school transport service for the 2022/23 school year as the existing service is operating to capacity.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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217. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school transport ticket will be allocated to a student (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46565/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

I am pleased to advise that the child referred to by the Deputy is eligible under the terms of the scheme and was issued a ticket on board a school transport service for the 2022/23 school year.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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218. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school transport ticket will be allocated to a student (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46566/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

The normal eligibility criteria of the scheme still apply and tickets continue to be allocated in line with this criteria. Pupils at primary level are eligible where they live no less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school. At post primary level, students who live no less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre are deemed eligible.

Any pupils/students who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, or otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.

In line with normal practice, all eligible children who completed the application and ticket registration process on time for the 2022/2023 school year will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is not eligible for school transport under the terms of the school transport scheme and was unsuccessful in obtaining a seat on board a school transport service for the 2022/23 school year as the existing service is operating to capacity.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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219. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school transport ticket will be allocated to a student (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46567/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

I am pleased to advise that the child referred to by the Deputy is eligible under the terms of the scheme and was issued a ticket on board a school transport service for the 2022/23 school year.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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220. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport tickets will issue to three students (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46568/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

The Department of Education and Bus Éireann have a process to facilitate the provision of School Transport Scheme Services for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine.

For children residing with a host family or for children of Ukrainian families living in their own private accommodation, an application for school transport can be made via a link on www.gov.ie/ukraine to a form below;

Application form for school transport parent/guardian/host

For families and children residing in accommodation centres (or similar), school principals may apply for transport for children attending their school who are residing in such accommodation. School principals should complete the information required on a form which is available on Gov.ie and return it to their local REALT co-ordinator. Full information is available on gov.ie via this link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/320e9-employment-and-education/#education.

Children will be accommodated on existing services where there is capacity. Children will not be charged for their ticket and normal eligibility criteria will be waived. If there is no service or capacity, a grant may be offered to the family as appropriate.

Every effort will be made to ensure school transport services are up and running as they are required. However, given the ongoing movement and arrival of families, it may in some cases take some time to arrange services for families as information becomes available for those who require school transport.

New applications are required for all pupils for the 2022/23 school year and applications continue to be received on a daily basis as families are relocated or as new families arrive.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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221. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport tickets will be allocated to students (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46569/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

I am pleased to advise that the children referred to by the Deputy are eligible under the terms of the scheme and were issued tickets on board a school transport service for the 2022/23 school year.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school transport ticket will be allocated to a student (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46570/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

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.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to 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 Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using a random selection process.

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy in this case is not eligible for transport as they are not attending their first or second nearest post primary centre. Furthermore, no ticket request was received for this pupil by the deadline of 29/07/2022.

The existing service is currently operating to capacity and there are no seats available at present.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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223. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school transport ticket will be allocated to a student (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46571/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

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.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to 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 Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using a random selection process.

Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is not eligible for school transport as they are not attending their nearest or second nearest post primary centre. The existing service is currently operating to capacity and there are no seats available at present. Furthermore, no ticket request was received for this pupil by the deadline of 29/07/2022.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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224. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children who have no access to school transport, by county in tabular form. [46575/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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242. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children who applied for and received school bus tickets to date in 2022 who are attending a secondary school and who did not previously hold a school bus ticket; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46716/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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243. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children who applied for and received school bus tickets to date in 2022 who are attending a primary school and who did not previously hold a ticket; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46717/22]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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244. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children who applied for a school bus ticket to date in 2022 who are attending a secondary school and were refused a ticket due to there being no place on the bus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46718/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 242 to 244, inclusive, together.

School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year. Already 124,000 tickets for the 2022/2023 school year have been issued to applicants for the new school year.

At the start of the last school year, there were circa 103,600 children carried on mainstream school transport services so already in the region of 20,400 additional places have been created a 20% overall increase. There has been an increase of 18% to date in the number of tickets issued to eligible pupils and an increase of 27% to date on the number of tickets issued to concessionary pupils, compared to the start of the 2021/2022 school year.

Additional transport and drivers have been secured to cater for this increased demand for services.

The information requested by the Deputy is not available in the manner requested, as numbers are still being finalised for the 2022/23 school year as Bus Éireann continue to process applications, it is estimated however, that as of 20th September circa 600 on time applications are still in the process of being assessed.

Bus Éireann will continue to process applications and to issue tickets as soon as extra buses and drivers are sourced and become available to provide transport for the higher numbers qualifying for the service. However, regrettably the unprecedented numbers of new applications for the upcoming school year, has led to some delays in issuing tickets.

As Bus Éireann process remaining applications and where additional services may need to be put in place for eligible children, any capacity on these services will be offered to concessionary applicants.

The normal eligibility criteria of the scheme still apply.

Pupils at primary level are eligible where they live no less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school.

At post-primary level students who live no less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre are deemed eligible.

All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time and who confirmed to Bus Éireann that they require a ticket by the 29th July 2022 will be accommodated on school transport services for the 2022/23 school year where such services are in operation.

In addition, pending completion of the outcome of the full review of the School Transport Scheme, Temporary Alleviation Measures at post-primary level be continued for the 2022/2023 school year. Under these measures, which were initially introduced in 2019, transport will provided for post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school and who applied by the 29^thApril and registered for a ticket by 29 July.

Any pupils/students who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, or otherwise known as concessionary, applicants and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat on when all eligible children have been catered for.

Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible pupils/students and the priority of providing places for eligible ticket holders, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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225. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport tickets will be allocated to students (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46581/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

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.

Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to 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 Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using a random selection process.

Bus Éireann have confirmed that the pupils to which the Deputy refers were unsuccessful in obtaining concessionary seats for the 2022/23 school year as they are not eligible for transport under the terms of the School Transport Scheme as they are not attending their nearest primary school. The existing service is currently operating at full capacity and there are no seats available at present.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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226. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a reply will issue to correspondence (details supplied) relating to a school transport issue. [46582/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

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.

Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to 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 Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.

Given the unprecedented demand for school transport for the upcoming school year there has been an increased volume of correspondence and calls both to Bus Éireann and to School Transport Section of the Department.

Bus Éireann previously confirmed to the families that a review of the routed mentioned by the Deputy was carried out, and confirmed the route cannot be amended to facilitate concessionary transport for non-eligible children.

I have asked Bus Éireann for a report on the matters raised, a response will issue to the Deputy in the coming days.