To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of existing transport provision for school pupils in each Education and Library Board, including eligibility criteria for a free school bus pass for pupils.

The existing school transport policy provides assistance for eligible pupils in the form of a seat on a bus (or other vehicle), or a sessional ticket (“bus pass”), or a monetary allowance in lieu of transport. Eligibility is based on attendance at a suitable school (one in the recognised categories of Catholic Maintained, Controlled or Other Voluntary, Integrated, Irish Medium, and Denominational and Non-Denominational Grammar) and distance (two miles for Primary pupils and three miles for Post-Primary). In the context of parents’ legal duty to secure the regular attendance of their child(ren) at school, the distance criterion reflected the distance beyond which it was viewed that pupils may require assistance to facilitate their attendance. The suitable school criterion reflects parental choice in terms of the category of school they wish their child(ren) to attend.

This system presently assists almost 90,000 pupils at an annual cost of almost £75 million. However, given that the current policy has been in operation relatively unchanged for many years, I recently commissioned an Independent Review of the policy with the aim of ensuring that we are delivering the optimum service possible in all aspects of education here, so that there is equality of opportunity and access for all our young people and every child is enabled to achieve to their full potential. Transport is a key facilitator in this vision.

I am, at present, taking time to consider in detail the findings of the Independent Review Panel before making decisions on the way forward, and will publish the Panel’s Report in due course.