Majority of school buses now fitted with seat-belts

The Department of Transport has said the majority of school buses have already been fitted with seat-belts ahead of the new school term.

The programme to install safety belts on all school buses was announced after last year's bus crash in Kentstown, Co Meath, which claimed the lives of five teenage schoolgirls.

The Department of Transport said today that 90% of the 700 buses operated by Bus Eireann and 85% of the vehicles run by private operators had now been fitted with seat-belts.

It said the Government would be launching an awareness campaign this week to inform students and parents about the law on wearing the new seat-belts where they are provided.