Refund for parents after school bus gaffe

THOUSANDS of families whose children use school buses can expect a refund on tickets after an embarrassing gaffe by the Department of Education.

Since early June, parents around the country have been receiving invoices from Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of the department. They show a 25% increase on school bus fares for next term, but the price hike was based on a letter sent in error by department officials to the bus company.

However, the Department of Education only notified Bus Éireann of the mistake last week, meaning those families who had already paid their fares will be entitled to a refund or credit against the second term fare. Last night, a Department of Education spokesperson would not comment on how the letter was sent or why it took over a month to rectify the mistake.