Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the review of the school transport scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6164/24]

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 of Education. In the current school year over 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02m.

There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023/2024 school year in comparison to the 2022/2023 school year.

Under the current terms of the scheme, 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. Any children 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.

A review of the School Transport Scheme has recently been completed by a Steering Group with high level membership of relevant Government Departments and other bodies, reflecting the importance of the scheme for access to education and other wider Government objectives. Undoubtedly, the School Transport Scheme is of huge importance to families. The review has been conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness, and sustainability and to ensure it services students and their families efficiently and effectively. Considering how to best maximise the benefits now and into the future has been a significant factor in the ongoing review of the Scheme which commenced in February 2021.

Following phase 1 of the review, Temporary Alleviation Measures (TAMS) were introduced at post-primary level and are being continued for the current school year. Under these measures, which were initially introduced in 2019, transport is provided where there is a route in operation and where 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.

There has been an extensive stakeholder engagement process, including consultation with parents, students, providers, and other key stakeholders. As part of this engagement we consulted with families who use the scheme, who would like to use the scheme and also with young people with special educational needs and mainstream students. The results from the stakeholder engagement with parents and children illustrated the importance of school transport to families with most indicating it is a safe and reliable service which helps families to live and work in rural Ireland. Many respondents also noted that there was no alternative public transport available currently to bring students to school. Another important finding of the stakeholder engagement process was that the Special Educational Needs Transport Scheme supports many children in attending specialist school placements which they may otherwise may not be able to attend.

An analysis of school transport schemes in other jurisdictions was also conducted as part of this stakeholder engagement and review process including the EU, the UK, the United States and Australia. This research and analysis outlined the evidence in terms of the need for a school transport service in an Irish context compared to some comparative countries as well as an analysis of the costs to users of school transport services in some other jurisdictions.

The Steering Group has recently completed its work on the final report of the review. This final report includes recommendations on the future operation and strategic development of the scheme and these and the phasing of future implementation of the recommendations is currently under consideration by me and my officials.

I am aware that this review is much-awaited, it is recognised that there are improvements which need to be made to the scheme and I know the importance of doing so. I expect to be in a position shortly to bring the review to government, and further to government approval, the review will be published.