12. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has considered the particular challenges associated with the current school transport criteria in rural areas such as County Mayo, including the local nuances associated with feeder schools and geographical distances; the measures her Department is taking to address these challenges; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29062/26]

Sentiment score: 0.06

Go raibh maith agat to my Vice Chair who is allowing me to swap to let me make it in time for a committee. Has the Minister considered the particularly nuanced challenges around current school transport, especially local traditions in relation to feeder schools versus kilometres, especially in rural counties like Mayo?

Sentiment score: 0.24

I welcome the huge investment in school transport and the huge increase. It is almost a year to the day I spoke about Sancta Maria Secondary School in Louisburgh that has two buses going every single day from Westport at a cost of approximately €850 to the parents. Traditionally, kids from Westport have either gone to Westport or Louisburgh schools. I even know of kids from Newport who will either go to school in Westport or Achill, but Castlebar schools could be considered their second nearest option. I understand there might be pilots going on, but a year later there are still parents paying €850. We do not have many children going from Westport to Castlebar, but traditionally we have two buses going to Louisburgh. That is data. We can look back over the past seven or eight years and there are two buses every single year going from Westport to Louisburgh. The Minister of State will agree, €850 is a huge cost to parents.

Sentiment score: 0.16

I can see why in places like Dublin, Galway or bigger areas, the catchment area could be confusing and there are a lot of schools. However, when we look at really rural places, it seems it would be much easier to engage with the schools themselves. The primary schools can tell the Department where all the students are going. If the primary schools in Newport are saying their students are either going to go to Westport, Achill or Louisburgh, why is Castlebar down as their nearest school? It might geographically be the second nearest or nearest school, but if kids from an area are not going there at all, it is crazy that the system would look at it that way. If there is any way there is a pilot that could be looked at for rural areas to see if the Department could engage with primary schools first and foremost to assess the nearest and second nearest schools based on where kids are going rather than on kilometres it would help, because there could be a school nearer by kilometres. For example, for students in Glenhest, there is a 0.5 difference in kilometres, but the kids are not going to Castlebar, they are going to Achill, Westport or Louisburgh.

Sentiment score: 0.13