Bus rule changes cost parents hundreds of euro

Parents in Co Kerry will have to pay hundreds of euro more for private transport for children starting secondary school this week than for their older brothers and sisters who already have seats on the school bus.

Changes to transport rules mean students are only entitled to a place to their nearest school, even if they have siblings already travelling on school buses to another institution.

Susan Barrett, from near Ardfert in North Kerry, is the mother of one of at least 16 children with no place on the bus to Causeway Comprehensive School. The families are tendering for a private bus firm to take their children from a 16km radius around Ardfert, Abbeydorney, and Lixnaw.