Bus Éireann
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-24
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

There are a number of issues we are considering as well.
The issue is in cases where someone driving a school bus is 69 years of age but turns 70 during the school year. We must look carefully as to whether it is possible to extend those drivers until they are in their 70th year or turn 71. For those individuals who are driving from September to June but turn 70 in October or February, for example, we must look at the possibility of extending that in the first instance.
A lot of work has been carried out with regard to the smaller vehicles. It is safe to say that I meet the school transport people on a weekly basis to ensure we are up to speed on where the issues are in relation to school transport. We will be opening the portal shortly again for the September 2026 school year.
This is always an issue. The Senator has raised it a number of times in the House and with me as well. I am acutely aware this would open possibilities for us. I hope we will have a decision sooner rather than later because it is important that we bring clarity in this regard. The challenges we have are the previous reports, but we have a cross-departmental look at it. I will endeavour to report back to the Senator when a decision is made.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-24