Children with special needs cannot access school transport

Children with special needs are unable to attend the school deemed most suitable for them as they do not qualify, under strict rules, for school transport.

The difficulties for children with special needs accessing transport were among issues raised with TDs and senators during a meeting to discuss the Department of Education’s €182m-a-year school transport scheme.

Most of the 15,000 special educational needs (SEN) students attending special schools, or special classes in mainstream schools, are among the 116,000 children carried daily by buses and taxis under the system.