Lack of bus causes kids to miss days at special needs school
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A dedicated school bus is still not in place for a new special school in Carrigaline, two months into the school year and five months since it was first announced.
Work on establishing a school bus for students at Carrigaline Community Special School in Cork, which opened its doors in September, is still ongoing.
The establishment of the school was announced in May in response to a lack of school places for children with special educational needs in the county.
As previously reported, parents have been forced to choose between taking unpaid leave or their child missing school due to the lack of transport.
Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport scheme on behalf of the Department of Education, confirmed to the it is currently processing 28 applications for the school.
From today (MON), transport will be available to cater for a “number of students”, according to Bus Éireann and the department.
There are children from rural parts of Cork who haven’t been able to attend because they have no transport, according to Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central.
“This school was announced in May and five months later, there is still no transport for these children. For other parents, the loss of income in having to take time off work has been a massive blow, he said.
Mr Gould called on the parties involved to resolve it, calling the problem "absolutely scandalous".
“The ETB and Bus Eireann are doing their absolute best but at the end of the day, the department and the Minister announced this school and should have worked to put all of these needed supports in place.
The school transport team has been working extremely hard on these applications, a spokeswoman for Bus Éireann said.
“There is inevitably a lead-in period required to procure suitable vehicles, ensure all necessary safety checks are completed, and for drivers to be fully vetted prior to commencement of any new service.”
“There may be additional time required for the school to source a suitable escort and further challenges exist due to the diverse location of where pupils are traveling from.”
A spokesman for the Department of Education said the department approves applications for school transport, and Bus Éireann assesses the options available.
“Where children can be facilitated on an existing service, applications are processed as soon as possible and arrangements put in place with the families involved.”
It has been working closely with Bus Éireann to process applications “as speedily as possible.”
“Bus Éireann have confirmed that a number of services for the pupils involved will commence from Monday, November 8, while work continues on establishing the remaining services required.”
She said the Department was aware of the challenges faced by families.
"Families of children who are eligible for special educational needs school transport may therefore avail of the Special Transport Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements until services are finalised.”