Education Minister has three months to get School Transport Scheme right – Lombard

A new, fit-for-purpose School Transport Scheme must be in place by April 20^th, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Tim Lombard said that with the long-awaited review of the School Transport Scheme now completed, it is incumbent on the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, to act swiftly so pupils and parents can be assured that they will be properly provided for during the 2026/2027 academic year.

“Internal Department of Education records state that this review has now been completed, according to a recent media report, and the review looks favourably on the School Bus Scheme’s merits, specifically with regard to rural connectivity, supporting the labour market and working parents, climate action and fostering life skills for children,” Senator Lombard explained.

“While this is positive, it’s still unacceptable that the findings of this report have yet to be released. A review of the School Transport Scheme began in February 2021 and an interim report was published in June the same year. In the Minister and Department’s own words, Temporary Alleviation Measures ‘mean that transport will be provided, where such services are in operation, for post primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school and who apply and pay on time’.

“The reality for many parents though, is that this measure is not applied on all routes and there are families in West Cork today who still do not have school transport for this school year, despite meeting the Temporary Alleviation Measure criteria. These alleviation measures have not gone far enough and parents and children have been experiencing significant frustrations as a result.

“The current Post Primary School Transport Scheme is based on a document published in 2012. What may have been a suitable scheme 11 years ago is clearly not the best option now. We’ve seen significant difficulties with the scheme over the past year in particularly, including driver shortages.

Whilst close to 130,000 tickets were issued for this year, this means nothing if the transport is not actually there when its needed.

“Bus Éireann currently runs the entire scheme, but with the National Transport Authority presiding over the Rural Transport Programme, there may be scope to integrate the two bodies to ensure all areas requiring school transport are adequately covered. But in the absence of the report being published and without seeing recommendations, it’s impossible to predict the future viability of the School Transport Scheme.

“Applications for the scheme for next year close on April 20^th. That gives Minister Foley three months to publish the report and have a long-term plan in place for next year and beyond. This review is ongoing for three years now – a new scheme must be formulated and provided for without any further procrastination.”