THE number of appeals against decisions on school transport access has increased by more than 500% in just four years, according to Department of Education figures.

GOVERNMENT aspirations to allow for more diverse school populations have been branded as pointless by the principal of a Protestant school where more than a quarter of pupils have been refused a school bus service.

A CHURCH of Ireland school community brought their protest over the withdrawal of a school bus to the Dáil, claiming the move threatens parents’ constitutional right to the choice of a denominational education.