Helen McEntee
Meath East · Fine Gael · Ireland
“There are no new missions, so there is only so much we can partake in. In regard to UN requests over the past ten years, in September 2019, we had 14 Defence Forces personnel deployed to a UN mission in Mali as part of a joint operation with the German armed forces.”
“I thank the Deputy for his continued engagement on this matter. It is appreciated and I reaffirm our shared commitment to truth and justice, not least for Private Rooney, but in particular for his family.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I know he is committed to this issue; I am too. I have in recent months spent some time travelling to different barracks and Army bases and meeting with personnel. What I see all over the country is their professionalism, dedication and commitment.”
“I disagree that people are being pushed into the courts. The situation is exactly the opposite. I have said in the Chamber many times since I started taking these questions that the State Claims Agency is there and wants to mediate and work directly with people in order that cases do not go directly to the courts.”
“We are all committed to strengthening recruitment to and supporting retention in the Permanent Defence Force. The military authorities have advised that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,823 personnel on 31 May, the most recent date for which we have a figure available.”
“It is the case that no mission is the same, so it is also a matter for the Defence Forces to assess and scope out the mission and then to decide whether it is a mission we can partake in. A question keeps being asked about what it is we would not be able to be a part of if we were to keep the triple lock.”
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“The NCSE is currently examining the level of need by special class and special school type and where these places are best located, including for early intervention classes. For this year alone, there have been three new classes opened and this is responding to the need that has been identified.”
“These classes are intended to provide early support to children with the most complex of needs before they start school and can aid their transition to junior infants. The vast majority of young children with additional needs are therefore supported to attend their local early childhood care and education, ECCE, setting and do not need to attend a primary school or special school to access early years support. A professional recommendation for a placement in such a class is also a requirement. Where the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, identifies a need for an early intervention class, the class is sanctioned and supports are provided by my Department to ensure the school can accommodate the class. We have 3,000 new special places being created in our education system for the current school year.”
“There has a been significant increase in resources and supports provided to children with additional needs accessing the AIM programme over recent years. It is important to note that a diagnosis is not required to access AIM supports and that while some children require additional supports at preschool level, many will transition into mainstream classes thereafter. To further supplement the provision of services for these children, my Department also provides a number of early intervention classes in mainstream and special school settings for children aged between three to five years with a diagnosis of autism. There is also a small number dedicated to children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.”
“I thank the Deputy. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality has responsibility for provision of services to children of preschool age. The access and inclusion model, or AIM as we know it, provided by that Department enables the full inclusion and meaningful participation of children with disabilities or additional needs in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme. Its goal is to create a more inclusive environment in preschools so that all children availing of preschool regardless of ability can benefit from quality early learning and care. This is in keeping with general policy position of supporting children with additional needs to access supports and services with their peers and siblings in their local community.”
“The motion of no confidence was designed to divide, distract and drag the Dáil into theatre at a time when families are looking for solutions. By contrast, Simon Harris's leadership, at home and abroad, has built consensus and delivered results. I am proud to say that I have every confidence in our Tánaiste, in this Government and in the values that guide us - compassion, delivery and integrity in public life.”
“All of this has been done with the support of our Tánaiste, somebody that I and all of us are proud to work with. Politics is about making a difference. It is about showing up. It is about working together. It is about improving lives, not scoring points, which is what Deputy Tóibín is trying to do here.”
“As Minister for further and higher education, he reformed our apprenticeship system and he worked to establish new technological universities across our country. As Minister for Justice, he introduced legislation to increase penalties for assaults against emergency workers, ensuring stronger protections for those who serve the public. More broadly, for those who think this Government is done, we have only started. This was the first budget of five. We cannot remind people enough of that. We are focused on making sure that we provide real opportunities for families in every part of this country and we started by making sure we increase carer's supports, increasing supports for people with disabilities, building more homes than at any point in the past decade and ensuring we have regional balanced development.”
“My colleague Simon Harris has shown significant leadership as Taoiseach and now as Tánaiste. We have seen real leadership and delivery, not only at home but abroad. He recognised the State of Palestine within a month of taking office as Taoiseach, showing absolute leadership at home but abroad as well. He apologised to the Stardust families after 42 long, difficult and painful years of waiting. He continues to defend Ireland's interests globally, as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Defence. As Minister for Health, he established the all-party Sláintecare committee. He led the implementation of this report. He expanded access to medical and GP visit cards for children with disabilities. He introduced State-funded IVF.”
“The politics that I see coming out of this particular motion, let us be clear, is about dividing this Chamber. It is about dividing communities. What is even worse is that this type of politics is about dehumanising and personalising these types of issues and political point scoring on something that is so difficult for so many families. It is much easier to create a division but it is much harder to form a consensus and to make things better. Forming a consensus is what we are focused on doing here. The number of children waiting more than a year on spinal surgery has dropped. There are more theatre sessions. There are more surgeons. There are more procedures happening than ever before. It is not enough but it is progress. It is delivery and we will do much more.”
“We have heard that the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health met Harvey's parents, Gillian and Stephen, and other parent advocates on 29 September and together they have agreed to work in partnership on the structure of that inquiry. I know, and I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Tánaiste and others, that they will continue to engage with Harvey's parents and, indeed, with many others on further meetings. No one in this Chamber has a monopoly on compassion. It is important to say that because every one of us - we have heard it eloquently from my colleague - cares deeply about the work that we do. We have been elected by those who have voted for us and those who have not in our constituency and our job is to come in here and to make the lives of those around us better to improve our communities.”
“The Deputy's objective is clear here. Rather than be distracted by attempts at point scoring, this Government is determined to get on with the real work oif delivering an inquiry into scoliosis and spina bifida care that will finally give families and, most importantly, children the answers and improvements that they so rightly deserve. I want to take this opportunity, along with so many others in this House, to offer my sincerest condolences to Gillian and Stephen, the parents of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, on their unimaginable loss. None of us can truly imagine what they are going through but what I can say, as has been said by so many colleagues, is that we are absolutely committed to do better. We must do better for Harvey, for his parents and for so many other children.”
“Deputy Tóibín announced it more than a week before it could even be debated, not because he wanted to give families certainty but because he wanted to create a spectacle. For the Deputy's own record, if he checks his own Facebook comments, he himself has said that this upcoming election should be a referendum on Simon Harris.”
“I have absolute confidence in the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris. I say this not only as a colleague, but as someone who first met Simon 20 years ago, long before either of us was elected to politics. I know the kind of person he is. He is someone of compassion. He is someone with a relentless drive to deliver for people right across this country. He is someone who works tirelessly, who listens carefully and who leads with that compassion. He is a person who acts and who does not shy away from difficult issues - there are many challenges in politics - but also he is someone who has never forgotten why he got in to public life - to make his and, indeed, our communities better. This motion of no confidence is not about solutions. It is not about making things better. It is not about compassion or accountability. It is a political stunt.”
“There is €3 million allocated for school leadership posts to provide more deputy principals in primary and post-primary schools, as well as making sure that we have more additional supports through special needs educators in our post-primary schools. There is significant investment in capital expenditure making sure we have small scale refurbishment, maintenance work, annual minor works, IT grants solar panelling, and climate action works, as well as a major building programme happening across the country.”
“Funding of €8 million across current and capital spending will make sure that we can continue to grow and expand our services, while also focusing on the environment and space they work in. There is €69 million for the school transport scheme, which my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, will expand on further. Additional funding of €19 million is being provided to allow for the continuation of training for our junior cycle and senior cycle reform that is happening, and of course, for the primary school curriculum that is going to be rolled out from next year. On top that as well, there will be 800 additional posts of responsibility. This is very much something we have worked with our unions on to make sure that in the roll-out of the senior cycle that we have posts within our schools to be able to support the roll-out.”
“For those in urban band DEIS 1 primary schools, with the greatest level of need, on top of that increase there will be a further €20, and in particular for students who reach the age of 12 in special schools. At the moment they receive the capitation rate for primary schools, which is the lower rate. We are bridging the gap and bringing them up them to the higher rate, while acknowledging that they have a greater level of need and that we need to provide that higher rate to our special schools. We are pleased that youth services are under the remit of the Department by bringing together our formal and informal education partners. There is so much we can do.”
“That plan will home in on children with more acute needs, providing what they, their schools and their teachers need. We can provide that. This plan is being developed at the moment with the support of teachers, the school community and children. I look forward to working with colleagues in rolling both of those out and announcing those in the coming weeks. On school costs, I have heard clearly from schools that they wanted additional financial resources. That is why capitation has been a clear focus. From next year's budget, we have €50 of an increase for primary schools increasing from €224 to €274 per pupil and €20 for post-primary schools raising it from €386 to €406.”
“It is important for next year that we have those places for children who need them so we have committed to facilitating 3,000 additional school places in special classes and special schools. Working with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and the NCSE, we are starting to identity and get a clear picture of the need for next year. SNAs and special education teachers supporting teachers already in schools are vital in that regard. The budget has given a clear commitment to try to support those who need our help the most, in particular those at risk of educational disadvantage. Our DEIS plan has worked well to date. More than 260,000 children benefit from it. I want to expand that and make it work as best it can. We have given a commitment to introduce a new DEIS plus plan that will begin to be rolled out next year.”
“These professionals play a vital role every day in children getting access to education in a way that meets their individual needs, so this was a real priority. Supporting the work of SNAs is an additional 860 new teaching posts specifically for special education, spanning special classes, special schools and mainstream settings, making sure children get the support they need in the setting most appropriate to them. Alongside this, €60 million is being invested in rolling out the schools-based therapy service, starting in special schools. The commitment is to roll that out to special classes and mainstream. The recruitment for this will happen in the coming weeks, making sure we have speech and language therapists and occupational therapists to start in our special schools.”
“First, continuing to invest in special education and in children with additional needs, who need our support the most, and their families. Second, continuing to invest in and expand on the important work done through the DEIS programme, focusing on children most at risk of educational disadvantage. Third, providing additional funding to schools. Like everybody, I have heard what schools have said. Fourth, continuing to invest in youth services and young people across the country. In relation to special education, we are making a substantial commitment by funding 1,717 additional special needs assistants, SNAs, bringing the figure to nearly 24,900 SNAs, a significant increase on recent years and an acknowledgement SNAs are needed and valued in schools and so important to many children.”
“I am pleased to outline many of the measures in the education and youth budget for 2026. At the outset, I congratulate the 73,336 students who received their junior certificate results today. It is a big day for them and their families. I was pleased to see the results reflect the changes to the bands that I made in April and the huge work that students did during the year. I congratulate each and every one of them. In 2026, the total budget for the Department of Education and Youth will be €13.1 billion. Since 2020, funding for school-level education has increased by €4.4 billion. That is a 50% increase and, I hope, a clear indication of our commitment to education. It is clear in the budget as well that I have homed in on a number of areas.”
“The supply of housing, as part of a social policy, being the supply of an apartment, used or to be used for residential purposes, in an apartment block within the meaning of section 31E of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999.”, and (ii) in Part 3, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 14: “14. Subject to paragraph 9A, the supply of immovable goods used or to be used for residential purposes.”. (2) THAT this Resolution shall have effect on and from 8 October 2025. (3) IT is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1927 (No. 7 of 1927).”
“I move: (1) THAT the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (No. 31 of 2010), be amended— (a) in section 46(1) – (i) in paragraph (a), by the insertion of “(cab),” after “(caa),”, (ii) in paragraph (c), by the insertion of “, (cab)” after “(caa)”, and (iii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (caa): “(cab) during the period from 8 October 2025 to 31 December 2030, 9 per cent in relation to goods of a kind specified in paragraph 9A of Schedule 3 on which tax would, but for this paragraph, be chargeable in accordance with paragraph (c);”, and (b) in Schedule 3 – (i) in Part 2, by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 9: "Housing as part of a social policy. 9A.”
“There were legal issues around defining the commencement date and the timing. That is the information I have been given. This is on top of any of the other measures that have been put in place. I have to stress again that this about activating the tens of thousands of planning permissions that have not yet started and have not yet been acted on and making sure that we can bring far more apartment complexes into the overall context for people.”
“-----and to activate more housing nor have I ever seen a Government that was not allowed to do more than the programme for Government. We may stray beyond the programme for Government from time to time, so be warned. Meath County Council has surpassed its housing targets with the support of Government. We will work with it to do even more. Coming from a county with a growing young population, just like the Deputy, I want to ensure that constituents have access to affordable homes and that they can buy, rent and own. On the timelines, the advice that I have been given is that there were legal issues around the overall timeline, but also the potential implications to stall the markets. If we set a future date, whether it is tomorrow or in six months, the further out it is we prevent the commencement of property.”
“To respond to a number of points, I have never seen a Government implement in full its programme for Government in one year. Deputies need to acknowledge that we have four years hopefully ahead of us to implement many more measures-----”
“Overall, it will fall within the definition from high-value accommodation to apartments built for social housing purposes and will cover all sizes of apartments. All the detail is being worked through. The guidelines to implement this are being developed by Revenue. This can be applied to by and can be sold on to any individual or group, be it a housing body, private or otherwise. This is about making sure we construct more apartments. In the past number of years, that has not been happening. There is a viability gap there and the aim behind this is to address it. It is one measure among a number we are introducing to increase the overall construction of affordable, social and private apartments and homes for people across the country.”
“All of this can be delivered through more housing and apartment delivery. In terms of the guidelines and how they will be implemented, Revenue is working to develop and implement the different guidelines. Essentially, this is aimed at incentivising builders to build additional apartments. This will stretch over a number of different years. With regard to the types of apartments, this measure will apply where a property is at least two storeys high and has least three units. It will not extend to duplexes or single-storey developments. It will extend to student accommodation as long as it meets the criteria for apartments, that is, multistorey accommodation with at least three units. It will not apply to apartments built over a business or apartments constructed as part of a hotel.”
“Looking solely at Dublin, of the last 44,500 units with planning permission, 90% of those, or approximately 40,000, are apartments that have not yet commenced. Overall, some 70,000 apartments with planning permission have not gone anywhere. That is not just in the past five or six months. Rather, it goes back as far as 2022 and before. We need to ensure that we are doing – and this is just one measure – what we can to activate. It is very clear there is a viability gap between apartments and houses in Ireland. That is something that has been said time and again. The purpose of this measure, therefore, is to reduce that gap to achieve wider policy goals as we have outlined, many of which are the national planning framework, such as increasing density and recognising demographic and societal changes.”
“On top of those measures, there is then €2 billion to support 100,000 households through the existing different schemes, such as the rental accommodation and social housing current expenditure schemes. It is important to continue those schemes. We need to increase our focus on building apartment complexes. A total of 50% of our employment or growth is going to happen across five cities, namely, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway. A total of 40% of our development will happen in brownfield sites in the coming years. We need to ensure that we are doing more when it comes to apartment complexes. Construction in this area is not moving so we have to ensure we are putting in place measures that will actually move and ensure we have delivery.”
“There is an allocation of €11.3 billion to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for 2026. A total of €7.2 billion of that allocation is in capital funding, which will include €2.9 billion to support the delivery of thousands of new build social homes and second-hand acquisitions; €1.2 billion for the starter homes programme to deliver thousands of starter homes through a range of affordability supports, alongside the help-to-buy initiative; €300 million to support the regeneration of our towns and urban areas through the urban regeneration development fund; €205 million for a new housing activation infrastructure fund to support the work of the new housing activation office; €140 million to retrofit further homes; and €130 million to fund up to 17,000 grants to adapt the homes of older people and people with disabilities, which is in addition to the significant €628 million increase in disability funding this year.”
“I thank the Deputies. This financial resolution provides for the reduction of the VAT rate applied to the sale of new apartments to 9% from 8 October 2025. It will apply to the 31 December 2030, that is, for the next five years. Its estimated cost for the first year is €250 million. The Government is committed to the delivery of more than 300,000 new homes by 2023. It is, of course, apparent that apartments need to be a significant part of that delivery. This is about ensuring that we have a greater delivery of not just apartments but cost-rental, affordable and private homes. To say that nothing is being spent or that there has been no focus on housing in this budget other than this specific measure simply is not correct. I will outline matters again.”
“As Deputies will recall, the background to this measure is that up to April 2022, Ireland maintained a historical derogation in respect of VAT rate on gas and electricity of 13.5%. This derogation was necessary as, otherwise, the standard rate of VAT of 23% would have applied. However, following the amendment to annexe III of the VAT directive in 2022, it was expanded to include gas and electricity. This meant that Ireland could apply a reduced rate of 9% to these products in line with other goods and services to which a reduced rate applies and that is exactly what we are doing here for the next five years.”
“This resolution provides for an extension in the temporary reduction in VAT on gas and electricity at an estimated cost of €254 million per year. At present, gas and electricity have a 9% VAT rate applied on a temporary basis until 31 October this year. This rate is due to revert to 13.5% from 1 November. This temporary reduction, introduced in May 2022, was one of the Government's responses to the current energy crisis and its impact on the cost of living. While inflation has eased and global energy prices have dropped, I believe it is appropriate to provide an extension to this measure. For many people, the cost of living remains relatively high, so the Government is proposing this extension from 1 November this year until the end of 2030. The cumulative cost of the measure since its introduction is estimated to be €746 million.”
“I move: (1) THAT the rate of value-added tax chargeable on the supply of electricity provided for by section 46(1)(caa) of, and paragraph 17(2) of Schedule 3 to, the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (No. 31 of 2010) and the supply of gas provided for by section 46(1)(caa) of, and paragraph 17(3) of Schedule 3 to, that Act, being 9 per cent until 31 October 2025, be extended until 31 December 2030 and that section 46(1)(caa) of that Act be amended accordingly. (2) THAT this Resolution shall have effect on and from 8 October 2025. (3) IT is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1927 (No. 7 of 1927).”
“The third thing is around actual SNA allocation. No changes are being made to the criteria. The way in which they are applied now is the way in which they will be applied in the year ahead. I want to be really clear on that.”
“Second, we want to ensure a redeployment scheme is put in place. It has always been the case that SNAs are redeployed. If the need is not in a school for a particular SNA, they move to other schools. Unfortunately, at the moment they have to resign and are made unemployed. They then have to reapply to school. It is not efficient and it is not fair on SNAs. We are changing that to have a more efficient redeployment scheme.”
“I welcome an opportunity to provide clarity for people in this regard. Three things are happening at the moment. First, myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, have made very clear that we will change the timelines by which SNAs are allocated. It is not good enough that on the day before they start school, children do not know whether they have an SNA or not. We are making it very clear that timelines will align with teacher allocations. Schools will still have time at the beginning of the year to identify whether there is an additional need and to make that further appeal. However, at any time throughout the year, if a dynamic in a school changes and if a child comes to the school with an additional need, there will always be an opportunity for a school to make that appeal.”
“Whether it is electricity, heating, insurance costs or hidden costs we are not aware of, I want to understand exactly what the costs are on a day-to-day, weekly and monthly basis in our schools and then see how we can support them but also how we can bring those costs down. That will feed into a wider piece of work I am doing. When it comes to the budget I will advocate, as we all are, for as much money as possible.”
“At the outset, I acknowledge the unbelievable work our principals do in our schools, the teaching they provide and the way in which they manage their schools. Of course I want to see more funding invested in education. Every cent we spend on a young person is not only an investment in their future but also an investment in our future. We have increased the capitation over the last number of budgets but of course I am currently, as we all are, engaging with the Ministers, Deputies Chambers and Donohoe, to ensure I can secure as much money as possible. What I am also doing, and what I think is really important, is taking a look at exactly what the costs are for schools.”
“What they have told us is that we are talking to them too late - that it has already happened and there is no point in talking to them in sixth class. That will happen at an earlier stage. We have talked to young people about issues like sexual orientation. We voted for marriage equality ten years ago. We are very clear that we recognise, as we should, same-sex couples and relationships and that is what we will be speaking to young people about.”
“I was really pleased to launch the new primary school curriculum this week, something that has been developed for many years in consultation with schools, teachers, parents and also with young people. There is no miscommunication or confusion. We are very clear as to what is in the curriculum. There is a greater emphasis on physical health but there is an emphasis on making sure we support young people's well-being. We want to make sure that we support young people to be resilient but that we also have classrooms that are warm, welcoming and safe. I am very clear on what is in the curriculum. I wish to be clear on this because there is no confusion other than what the Deputy has just said, which is completely inaccurate. We will talk to young children about puberty.”
“In this regard, the final phase is being rolled out. An increasing number of families are able to access the clothing and footwear allowance, which has been expanded again this year. Therefore, a huge amount of work is being done by the current Government and the previous one to ensure that where we can remove stresses for parents, bearing in mind that we are not going to eliminate every stress, we do so. My colleague and I know that school transport can play a huge role overall in this regard. We are absolutely committed to ensuring we expand the service to as many students as possible. I stress again that the number of students availing of the service has increased from 120,000 in 2018 to 178,000. This equates to an increase of almost 50%. I hope that shows our commitment very clearly. What we want to do goes even further than that.”
“In addition to considering the possibility for those who are over 70 to perhaps drive for longer, other issues are being considered in that context. There is no doubt that school transport is such an important service for so many parents. We have just heard from Opposition parties on back-to-school issues and the stress they put on parents. Our objective is to ensure we provide services and transport for young people and do so in a timely manner. Transport-related stress is not the only stress parents face, and that is why the current and previous Governments have made huge strides to try to remove stresses at the time of going back to school. Every single child now gets free books when going to school. Some €200 million in ICT grants is being provided to schools. We have hot school meals for all primary school students.”
“As part of a national focus on driver requirements, the Department facilitated a working group involving my Department, the Department of Transport, Bus Éireann and Education and Training Boards Ireland to increase the availability of drivers, within the school transport scheme and other public transport areas nationally, through existing and potential training schemes. As a result of the work done by the group, a transport task force has been established. It is chaired by the Department of Transport and its aim is to work collaboratively to identify factors that contribute to recruitment issues and put forward recommendations and measures to create a pipeline of workers to address these issues. Of course, we know some of the challenges and the issues that are being discussed.”
“It is also intended to continue to pilot the use of Leap cards and technology in existing pilot areas and introduce Leap cards in some of the newer pilot areas for 2025–26. Therefore, a huge amount of work is happening to ensure we have a system that is efficient but that can be rolled out to more students as soon as possible. With regard to capacity issues, which are the main problem, as with other transport sectors, the school transport scheme continues to experience driver and contractor availability challenges.”
“Work is under way, through the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, with my support, to make those changes around the timeline. Where children are going to school is a factor. Once parents know where their children are going to school, we want to ensure they can apply for the bus route and pay. We must ensure that Bus Éireann or any private provider can start to map out the routes much earlier. That way, when problems arise, they do not arise the week before the students go back to school. That is the source of much of the frustration. A considerable amount of work is happening in the Department to ensure that can be the case. Work is also under way in respect of smart ticketing, digital route planning and improvements to the SEN transport application process.”
“We continue to roll out enhancements to technology and customer service. Improvements have been made to enhance the customer experience, particularly during peak summer months. Bus Éireann has a dedicated call centre, with a call back and webchat facility available to families. The call centre operated with extending opening hours during the summer, when required. A considerable number of people in Bus Éireann and my Department did a huge amount of work over the summer to ensure that as many routes as possible were in place, as many tickets as possible were given out and the many issues were resolved as soon as possible. The biggest challenge and main frustration for parents is the fact that so much of this happens so close to when school is starting. That is the big change we need to make.”
“I am not saying that we will put younger students on public transport but we will do so for older students, where possible. We will also look for more opportunities to promote more sustainable modes of transport. The findings from these evaluations will guide the planning and implementation needed for a national roll-out of a revised school transport scheme. The priority is to provide transport to pupils who are eligible under the current terms and to ensure we expand and remove those terms to ensure as many students as possible can access transport as quickly as possible. While some pilot projects are already up and running, we want to work to ensure the availability of vehicles and drivers in the remaining pilot areas and to ensure that additional services can commence as the pilot proceeds.”
“The intention is absolutely to change those but we must do so on a phased basis. That is in order to pilot the revised scheme eligibility criteria in a small number of areas. Sourcing additional capacity can take time where a procurement process is required and subsequent vehicle and driver safety compliance checks need to be completed. There were many challenges this year. Pupils had been given tickets. They were not concessionary and those pupils had valid tickets, but we could not find someone to apply for the tender and simply could not identify the drivers. We must ensure all of this is worked through. These pilots will provide valuable insights into the impact of increased demand on the scheme and the potential for integrating public transport with school transport services, particularly for older children.”