No child should be left without a seat on Kilkenny school bus, appeal

Extra funding should be allocated to school bus routes in Kilkenny that are over-subscribed for next year, so that no child who needs a bus seat is denied one.

The plea from Cllr Deirdre Cullen was raised with Minister of State Jack Chambers, last week, as the application deadline for school transport approached.

“When assessing all of the applications, any Kilkenny route that is over capacity should be considered for increased funding to ensure that no child who needs a bus seat is left off that bus,” Cllr Cullen said.

“In my experience as an educator, some students can either be late for school or miss days entirely as a result of lack of transport to school. How can we tell a parent who doesn’t have access to transport or who needs to work full time that their child can’t avail of school transport?

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“Delivering equality in education so that every child has equal access to education to be able to achieve to the best of their abilities should also include being able to avail of school transport if necessary,” she said.

Cllr Cullen is a teacher and a Home School Community Liaison Coordinator working with DEIS schools in Kilkenny and is on the Kilkenny Carlow Education and Training Board.
Last year many families had issues getting seats on school busses.

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The closing date to apply for school bus seats for the 2023/24 school year was last Friday.
Any new applications made after this deadline date will be deemed late and families are not guaranteed a ticket.

Payment/ medical card details for all pupils who wish to be considered for the allocation of a ticket for the 2023/24 school year can be submitted between 3 April 2023 and 9 June 2023.

Children (who are eligible for school transport) with valid medical cards (GMS Scheme) are exempt from paying the annual charge, however their medical card details must be submitted between 3 April 2023 and 9 June 2023.

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Payments/ medical card details must be submitted for new applicants and also for pupils who have previously applied/ availed of school transport and require a seat on a service for the 23/24 school year.
Updates on the application process can be found on Gov.ie (link to School Transport) and on buseireann.ie