Green Party TD – Steven Matthews has called for greater urgency in the Department of Education regarding the completion of the in-depth review of the school bus system. This follows a number of public and private engagements with the Minister for Education – Norma Foley TD on this issue after a series of failings in the system were flagged by Deputy Matthews.
Discussing the review, Deputy Matthews said:
“The need to improve and expand the school bus service is an issue that I have been raising for over two years with the Minister for Education. I am contacted every summer by parents that have children that either don’t qualify for a seat due to the lack of flexibility in the qualifying criteria or worse again, they do qualify for a seat, but the bus is oversubscribed, and a larger bus cannot be provided.
“When the review was announced, I welcomed the news and felt it was a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, I have received multiple commitments on a timeline for when it will be published, and all have been missed. The latest update I received this week was that it was at the final stage of completion with a view to being published shortly.
“The lack of urgency here does not reflect the need for change in what is an overly rigid system. If we are to be serious about getting cars off the roads, particularly at peak times, then we need to provide alternatives.
“When a parent comes to me seeking my help, I often come up against the same red tape that they have experienced, and this isn’t acceptable. I have seen cases where a bus drives past the front door of a family that do qualify for a seat but can’t get on due to capacity issues. We need to be supplying school bus options for any family that needs them and the findings of this review cannot come soon enough, concluded Deputy Matthews.
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