6,000 pupils ‘left on the side of the road’ after school bus fees waived

(Ian West/PA)

School children are being “left at the side of the road” due to failures in the school transport system, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh O Laoghaire said the Department of Education should have anticipated the capacity issues that would result from the minister’s announcement that the 500-euro fee for school bus transport was to be waived for this academic year.