Vol. 1090 No. 2
16. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures being taken to ensure school bus tickets are issued in advance of the commencement of the 2026-27 school year; the steps being taken to avoid a recurrence of the delays and capacity issues experienced last year, which resulted in eligible children being left without transport or unable to access existing routes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53982/26]
Like the Minister, I want to wish our gallant Galway hurlers everything that is good on Sunday, but that is not why I stood up to speak.
I am anxious, given the spate of correspondence coming into my office, about the school transport scheme and how some families find themselves ineligible or refused transport for the next year.
The school transport system is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. The scheme is a demand-led scheme based on the number of eligible children who apply and pay on time. Families who require school transport for 2026-27 were asked to apply and pay for their school bus tickets by the closing date of 8 May. The earlier closing date was put in place so that we could give Bus Éireann additional time to put in place transport arrangements for the upcoming school year. Since this date, Bus Éireann has been assessing all applications and planning routes and services for the 2026-27 school year.
The school transport scheme remains heavily subsidised by the State. The approximate cost to the State per mainstream pupil is currently €1,400 annually, while the cost to the family is €100 per pupil. The total cost of the school transport system in 2025 was €537 million, equating to almost €3 million being spent on the provision of school transport per day. It is important to note that the primary school ticket will cost the equivalent of 55 cent per school day and the cost of a post-primary ticket is approximately 60 cent per day, with no family paying more than €1.32 per day regardless of how many children use the services. Tickets are now being issued to families and will continue to be issued throughout the summer. Where pupils are unsuccessful in receiving tickets, they will be notified as early as possible, and refunds will be issued from Bus Éireann.
As part of the operation of the scheme, Bus Éireann manages the procurement, tender process and contract management arrangements to include services provided by contractors under the school transport scheme. There are currently over 8,000 vehicles operating on the scheme and the competitive procurement process is conducted in accordance with the negotiated procedure under the national and EU procurement legislation. In previous school years, Bus Éireann has reported particular issues with the availability of drivers. This included a number of contractors handing back contracts unexpectedly. I will refer to some of the other details later.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I get the whole cost of providing transport, but access to education begins with access to transport. For any parent who finds themselves in receipt of a refusal for a bus ticket for next year, it is the most compelling and difficult thing they have to deal with. It is stressful enough without them being told that do not qualify. In most cases, the people that I am talking about had transport last year. It is almost inconceivable that they had it last year and they are not getting it this year. God knows, there are plenty of examples. There is one example in Galway where St. Brigid's College and St. Raphael's College in Loughrea are maxed out in terms of numbers and the nearest school is St. Killian's College in New Inn. The school could desperately do with transport to ensure that it is sustainable. In this instance, there are six children who require transport to said school. However, I get and appreciate the whole issue of the costs of providing the service.
I know the value of the school bus ticket. I always say that from the middle of August through to 1 October is peak time in terms of this issue. Irrespective of the overall figures that I can give the Deputy here today in relation to the cost to the State and the amount of money that the State has invested, it pales into irrelevance when we are talking about one or two tickets for a family. The Deputy mentioned six tickets on a particular route. We have a lot of concerns in relation to whether every bus ticket on the system is being utilised to the full as well. We are looking at various ways to try to ensure that we get everybody on the school bus. Enabling the children of a family to get on the school bus at primary and post-primary levels is a huge game changer. When free education came out in the 1960s, the school transport scheme was introduced because people did not have transport. Right now it is because there are two parents working or the challenges they have with other children as well. I understand the challenges, and we are working very hard. The team in Bus Éireann and the Department of education have huge engagement to try to resolve issues. Do we have a magic wand for every issue? We probably do not, but we are working to try to resolve issues.
As the Minister of State mentioned, there are instances where students and families have benefited from school transport tickets. There are also many instances where they are not utilised. If there was a formula or mechanism to make sure that only those who need them apply, it would help the situation. I do not know if anyone would be in position to say that they do not want it and will give it back, but if we had some kind of mechanism to make sure that only those children who want to avail of public transport would apply for it and it could be left to those who urgently require it. I thank the Minister of State. I want to ensure that no parent has the stress for the summer months of waiting and hoping to see if someone can provide transport for their student for the next school term.
I thank the Deputy. We are looking at ways to ensure that if there is a ticket issued, it will be used. Anecdotally, the Deputy and other colleagues tell us about school routes the length and breadth of the country that have spare capacity but, when we look at the system, all of the tickets on that particular school route are occupied and accounted for, and it is therefore very difficult to reallocate them. As it is such a huge scheme, and given the amount of money the State has invested in it, we need to try to get the best value for money that we can. We also need to make sure that those who need the tickets most are being allocated the tickets. We are working across Bus Éireann and the Department to ensure that the services are reaching the families that really need the tickets. There is a good bit of work to do on that, but there is a huge commitment across government to make sure that we do that to ensure we can get the tickets out there. The most valued piece is the school bus ticket. I know from past experience and the role that I now have that when the ticket is not available, it can cause huge stress and anxiety for families and children.
17. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider the introduction of a national programme for post-primary schools aimed at educating students about domestic violence and gender-based violence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52669/26]
Education about domestic and gender-based violence is addressed in the SPHE curriculum at both junior cycle and senior cycle. An updated junior cycle SPHE specification was rolled out in schools from September 2023, with all schools required to provide the subject for all junior cycle students. An updated senior cycle SPHE specification was published in 2024 and is being introduced on a phased basis, with all schools required to provide the subject at senior cycle by September 2027.
The introduction of these updated SPHE specifications is recognised as a key action within the prevention pillar of Zero Tolerance: The Third National Strategy for Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. It is one of a number of actions in the implementation of the strategy that are led by my Department, reflecting its commitment to the aims of zero tolerance.
Learning in SPHE is designed to be appropriate to the age and stage of development of students. At junior cycle, there are relevant learning outcomes across the various strands of SPHE, including in relation to respectful relationships, identifying the signs of healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationships, the importance of consent and of boundaries within relationships, and being able to recognise different kinds of abusive behaviour. The updated senior cycle SPHE specification includes learning about the common signs of abusive relationships, including coercive control, understanding the root causes and consequences of gender-based violence and the supports available, and image-based abuse.
Recognising the sensitivity of these and other issues addressed within the SPHE programme, the introduction of these updated specifications continues to be supported by an extensive programme of teacher professional learning offered by Oide. There have been more than 10,000 teacher interactions at these sessions since 2023. In addition, 104 teachers so far have participated in the DCU graduate diploma in SPHE and RSE, which offers post-primary teachers the opportunity to upskill in this very important subject area.
I thank the Minister for the updates. It is important to note that there is going to be more extensive engagement with students. I recently met a group of students from County Louth. We had a lively, truthful and open conversation, particularly with the boys who are attending all-boys schools. They were honest about the fact that they are very much in the dark about what consent means and how they are supposed to behave. Peer pressure also plays a large role in this. They need guidance, and they were very much calling out for guidance from a school perspective.
I would ask the Minister to consider bringing these updates into the junior cycle. As we know, children can live in family situations where there is domestic violence from a very early age. Crimes, including sexual crimes, are happening younger and younger. We see it from the double-digit growth that is happening year on year. I do not think we can get in early enough.
The Deputy raises a very important issue. We have seen reports on the news in recent weeks on the impact of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It is important that we raise awareness, as a society. These are also conversations that need to happen at home, with parents.
It is important that we situate the area of learning within the SPHE programme, rather than in a separate programme. SPHE aims to equip young people and students with the knowledge and understanding of how to navigate the world around them, to make decisions, to understand how to forge healthy relationships, and where to seek help or information when it is needed. These are all crucial skills. Of course, teacher competence and confidence are very important in the SPHE classes. That is why Oide, which deals with professional learning for teachers across the country, has rolled out an extensive programme of teacher professional learning over the past three years to support the introduction of the new SPHE specifications. There have been more than 10,000 teacher interactions, as I said. Resources are also available online to support SPHE teachers in the classroom. They have been developed in close collaboration with the HSE, the NCCA and my Department. I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue.
