Foley under fire for school transport shortages

Minister for Education Norma Foley has come under fire for failing to improve transport for schools.

In a Dáil session, the Kerry TD said that she is “well aware” of the importance of functioning transport to schools as she is from a rural constituency.

Foley, for her part, noted that over 150,000 school children across Ireland avail of transport to school and nearly €340 million has been spent on the scheme, but Dublin TDs of all stripes took her to task for what they perceive to be a lack of urgency on the issue.

Fine Gael TD Emer Higgins raised the issue with Minister Foley, saying that the gaps in school transport systems have become “very obvious” in recent weeks.

Higgins pointed to driver shortages as a major contributing factor.

“I have suggested solutions, such as allowing drivers over the age of 70 to continue driving after an annual medical check, especially since drivers over 70 can continue to drive tour buses in the private sector – our children need them.”

Higgins’ party colleague Fergus O’Dowd noted that he turned 75 years old recently, but in the modern world, many people, as they age, are “very capable of driving buses.”

Green Party TD Brian Leddin said “I find it remarkable in this day and age that we have a system whereby every year there is a scramble to find places on school buses and elected representatives of this House and on the local authorities across our country are contacted by concerned parents in their thousands, parents who are rightly worried about how their children will get to school in the upcoming year. It really is not a good system and it is flawed.

Minister Foley pointed to Covid-era restrictions and the recent addition of Ukranian refugees to the education system as roadblocks to her Department carrying out effective reforms of the school transport system.

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly remarked “I am trying hard not to enjoy all the Government speakers coming to the House to speak about the deplorable state in which the Government has left transport for kids trying to get to school.”

O’Reilly discussed the issues surrounding school transport in her area, saying “many learners in my constituency want to attend a school in their catchment area but may need to leave their immediate vicinity to be able to access the school of their choice.

“In the case of many families, the parents are working and commuting and cannot bring the students in the family to school, so they are reliant on public transport. I spent much of the summer engaging on behalf of many parents in my area to try to ensure they have a secure route to school for their kids. In some cases, parents have had to change jobs. Some have had to change shifts and others had to go part-time in order to get their children to school.”

“One of the areas where this problem is highly pronounced is Balbriggan where Coláiste Ghlór na Mara services a massive catchment area. We do not have enough Gaelscoileanna in my constituency. There are 35 students in the school who live in Swords. Many of them went to Gaelscoil Bhrian Bóroimhe, which is a feeder school for Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, yet they have been told the school they should go to is Gaelcholáiste Reachrann in Donaghmede. Many of them were denied a place there, so they have no choice.”

“They have approached a local private provider which stated it has the capacity to get the students to school, yet there does not seem to be a resolution. It makes me wonder if this Government is committed at all to Irish medium education because it is not facilitating these students.”

Labour TD Duncan Smith said “the anachronistic geographic rule fails on the fundamental law of common sense in many cases.”

Smith cited the case of Coláiste Ghlór na Mara, Balbriggan, where he said the school was granted patronage based on the region. 

“It was said that it would be the regional Gaelcholáiste for Fingal. Children in Swords, 12 in particular, are unable to get the bus service to Balbriggan, which is closer in terms of travel time. It is cleaner and greener to get there. The line on the map says the school in Glasnevin or the school in Kilbarrack, where there is no direct bus service either, by the way, is closer.”

“This is even though there is a feeder school from Swords up to Balbriggan and it is quicker and cleaner to get there. There is a bus. It goes from Blake’s Cross. It should start from Swords – there are 12 kids being left behind.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said “statements on school transport do not do justice to what we are being asked to speak to.”

“More than school transport, I am being asked by parents who have contacted me on this issue to give voice to the fact that their children, often children with acute vulnerabilities and additional needs, are being excluded from their basic right to an education.”

“I do not doubt for a second that organising school transport on scale is a logistical challenge, but nor do I feel for a second that it is one that should be considered insurmountable – it cannot be considered so.”

“This enormous failure is being felt in the homes of families the length and breadth of the country,” he said. 

Gannon noted that in 2021 the Minister’s office commenced a review of the post-primary transport scheme, but the review has not materialised.

“How has nothing been published in the years that have passed? Does the Minister find this administrative lethargy on an issue of such importance to be acceptable?”