A Department of Education minister has been told "there is no excuse" for the government not to have adequate bus places and services in place for the
upcoming academic year.
Cavan-Monaghan Senator Pauline Tully told Minister of State Michael Moynihan that rural TDS like her are inundated every year with phone calls from
distressed parents over bus places.
She said the rules of 3.2km for primary schools and 4.8 kms for Secondary school and the nearest school policy resulted in some families from Cavan without a bus place and had to pay for one even though some were medical card holders.
She told Deputy Moyhihan that parents were only told they had no seats for their children two weeks before term was due to begin.
The Cavan-based senator said while the situation was resolved she doesn't understand why it wasn't resolved before school started.
Pauline Tully called for the abolition of the nearest school rule and for the age of drivers allowed to work on school transport to be increased to
70 in line with the haulage sector:
