Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Deputy Pearse Doherty has called on the new Minister for Education to ensure that any review into the School Transport Scheme will consider the views of a number of stakeholders, including the families of school-goers in Donegal.
Deputy Doherty’s comments come after a commitment to review the controversial scheme was included as part of the new programme for Government published last week.
The Donegal TD says that the long awaited review will be one of the first issues which he will be raising with the new Minister as the Dáil reconvenes.
Deputy Doherty said: “The commitment to review the School Transport Scheme is of course very much welcomed, if not long overdue.
“Families of school-goers throughout Donegal have long voiced their opposition to certain aspects of the scheme, particularly its lack of flexibility and the very stringent rules governing eligibility such as the contentious distance rules which dictate what school a child attends and the route via which they must travel in order to get there.
“Over the course of the previous Dáil term, I raised the need to amend the scheme and relax the rules on several occasions with the former Government Minister, because it has become quite clear that the scheme – in its current form – is unaccommodating to the needs and requirements of many school-goers and their families.
“At present, the rules state that in order for a child to be eligible for school transport then they must be attending their nearest school as determined by Bus Éireann, while having regard to ethos and language.
“However, this is much too restrictive and the rules are being applied much too rigidly. The needs of children and their families are far more diverse than those currently taken into consideration under the scheme, and their needs must be listened to if we are to improve what is a very flawed regime.
“Parents of children requiring special needs education or more specialised services are very often disregarded, particularly in instances where there is more than one child of school going age in the one household but, because of the way the rules are being enforced, siblings may be split up and forced to attend different schools, often against the wishes of parents and guardians.
“These rules were introduced in the dying days of the last Fianna Fáil Government, and the harmful effects of the changes are still being felt by families here in Donegal.
“Essentially, the scheme lacks the compassion which it ought to have in order to provide a good level of service to families of students, and that is something which this review that the Government has promised must now address.
“I will now be tabling a Dáil Question to the Minister in which I’ll be asking him when this review will be completed and also what level of engagement and consultation will be involved as part of this process in order to ensure that the views and concerns of all families are listened to and respected.”
