I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It gives me the opportunity on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to ICT grants and minor works grants. I am delighted to confirm that my colleague, the Minister, this morning announced that both grants will be paid to schools in June, with a combined €65 million investment in our schools to help them with maintenance and improvements as well as helping schools to embed ICT into their teaching, learning and assessments. Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested approximately €6 billion to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost 1 million students and more than 100,000 staff who learn and work in our schools every day. Minor works and ICT grants for schools are important elements of the record level of capital investment in school infrastructure. As the world around us changes rapidly, it is vital that schools can instil students with the skills they need to reach their full potential in our modern society. My colleague, the Minister, has announced €35 million in ICT funding that will empower schools to harness the opportunities technology presents and to support children and young people to become competent and engaged learners. Furthermore, minor works payments are vital in supporting our primary and special schools. I am pleased to say that the Minister has confirmed that €30 million in funding will be paid to schools in June. This will allow school communities to address issues at a local level and support their operations for the coming school year. This will give schools time to consider their plans and priorities for how best to use the funding. In Project Ireland 2040, a commitment was given that the minor works grant would be paid to primary and special schools in December or January of the school year. In recent years, the Department’s approach has been to ensure the minor works grant is paid in advance of the following school year to facilitate a better lead-in period for schools to plan maintenance or minor works during the summer period, which must be welcomed. Minor works grants totalling €30 million were paid in April 2024, as the Deputy said, to primary schools and special schools for the current school year 2024-25. Payment of the minor works grant along with the ICT grant next month will provide valuable support to schools for their maintenance and technology needs. I pay tribute to all schools for their amazing work and the many challenges they face at the school gate. I am aware from engaging with a lot of schools and visits to many schools over the past number of months of the importance of these grants in ensuring funding is available for minor works and ICT.

Sentiment score: 0.61

There is constant engagement between school authorities and the Department. A number of schools have been in contact with the financial unit in the Department and issues have been resolved. I assure the Deputy we have moved to have the funding in place for the 2025-26 school year for the ICT and minor works grants. These grants are hugely important. When it comes to engagement we are not isolated from what is happening at schools. The senior Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I are acutely aware of the massive work being done at the school gate and by school leaders, school teams and boards of management, all of which have a hugely important role, which they take on diligently. We understand the challenges. The Department has provided record investment over the past five years, with more than €6 billion spent on schools to bring up standards. There is a growing population and challenges remain in many communities to ensure we have adequate school places. In respect of special schools, there is a huge amount of work to be done in my Department with regard to school places and so forth. We are working as hard as we can to ensure that work is done. The announcement of this funding today is welcomed by school authorities the length and breadth of the country. They are delighted to be getting it. It is important we acknowledge the amount of funding put into schools. We will continue to support schools in every way we can into the future.

Sentiment score: 0.39

I thank Deputy Mattie McGrath for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the issues regarding how Bus Éireann manages the school transport system on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. As the Deputy may be aware, the school transport 2030 report was published in early 2024, following a comprehensive analysis and review of the scheme as it currently operates. The recommended changes to the future operation of the scheme include expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards greater integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money for the Exchequer. It is proposed to expand access to the scheme in order that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030. A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations began at the start of the 2024-25 school year. Following the publication of the review, the Department will test the feasibility of a number of approaches through a series of pilot programmes. These pilot programmes will be held in conjunction with the Department and Bus Éireann. A total of 14 pilot projects are under way in the current school year and are currently being evaluated. It is intended to continue current pilots for the upcoming school year. They will be monitored, and a further evaluation will take place at the end of the 2025-26 school year. The findings from these evaluations will guide the planning and implementation needed for a national roll-out of a revised school transport system. Work is under way to identify where further pilot programmes can be conducted. A number of approaches are being examined, including the use of a geographic information system, GIS, to identify how many additional children would become eligible and where they are located. A digital mapping project of all existing school bus routes has been developed. There is ongoing collaboration with the Department of Transport, Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority with regard to the planned expansion of public transport routes to explore where integration may be possible. This is not always possible in specific rural areas, as the Deputy noted. It occurred to me a moment ago that I travelled to both primary and secondary school using the school transport system. The service provided he length and breadth of the country is second to none. I remember with great fondness those who drove the buses, the contractors and Bus Éireann , which made it all possible. Implementation of the recommendations of the review will continue to be planned, subject to resources being available to meet the increased demand. Under the current terms of the school transport system, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from their nearest national school, which they must be attending. At post-primary level, a pupil must reside not less than 4.8 km from their nearest post-primary school or education centre, which they must be attending, as determined by the Department or Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Officials from Bus Éireann and the Department of education came into the audiovisual room two weeks ago to meet Members of the Oireachtas. It was the first time they issued an open invitation to all Members of the Oireachtas, both TDs and Senators, in order that they could hear about the challenges being faced at the school gate from Members. I always say that, in our own office, school bus tickets become an issue from 15 August and continue to arise right through until the first or second week of October. There are huge challenges in this regard. The school transport system is so important because families are relying on it now, just as they did when free education was introduced. Transport was not as widely available at that time, however. With many families having two parents working now, it is hugely important. I assure the Deputy that I will continue to monitor this with our officials in the Department and Bus Éireann to make sure we can make changes and make it as accessible as possible.

Sentiment score: 0.19

The Deputy mentioned a couple of things. The closing date for payment or for medical card issues is 6 June, which is next Friday. Bus Éireann and the Department officials have assured me they will be working extremely hard for the three weeks after that to get the information together, to correlate it and to understand where the needs are and where the challenges are going to be met. A lot of work is going on and I pay tribute to the officials in the Department and Bus Éireann for their engagement with me over the past number of months since my appointment and I look forward to working with them on it. They have assured me they will be working on this, and we will be having weekly meetings to review it constantly to make sure we have the information for families as soon as possible. It is crucially important we do that. The Deputy mentioned the over-70s and this issue has come up time out of number in many discussions on school bus systems and the challenges in it. The programme for Government has given a commitment that will be reviewed, and I would like to allow the review take place, so we have the best information possible, and we have data, opinion and a proper review. We will then make a decision on how to move forward. I take that point because it was raised a number of times at the briefing in the audiovisual room. I will continue to work on it. In school transport we have to pay tribute to Bus Éireann and the contractors. The contractors are a vitally integral part of it, as are the school bus drivers because they become part of the extended family. I pay tribute to all bus drivers the length and breadth of the country for the work they do throughout the year and in the more challenging winter months. I assure the Deputy and the House that we will be working extremely hard over the next months to make sure we have the best information for families in as timely a fashion as possible.

Sentiment score: 0.25