The Department of Education has confirmed that school transport refunds will be issued on a staged basis over the coming six weeks.
Minister for Education Norma Foley said Bus Eireann would be issuing refunds to families for the unused portion of their ticket.
Many students were unable to avail of the Bus Eireann service they had paid for at the beginning of the school year due to the closure of schools in keeping with public health measures.
The amount of refund due will be based on the number of standard school days missed and the original fee that was paid.
As schools returned on a staggered basis during March, the refund is based on the closure that had the most impact from January 6 to March 26 2021.
Mr McNamara, who first raised the issue with Minister Foley on March 3, said, "This is the correct decision by the Department of Education as thousands of parents will have paid in advance for transport to schools which were shut through no fault of their own or the Minister.”
He added: “The refund due for each primary school student is €31, with the figure rising to €108.50 per post primary school student.”
The refunds will be as follows:
· One primary school child - €31
· Two primary school children - €62
· Three + primary school children - €68.20
· One special needs concessionary child (primary or post-primary) - €31
· One post primary school child - €108.50
· Two post primary school children - €201.50
· Three + post primary school children - €201.50
· One primary, one post primary - €139.50
· One primary, two post primary - €201.50
· Two primary, one post primary - €170.50
· One primary, three + post primary - €201.5
· Two + primary, two + post primary - €201.50
· Three + primary, one post primary - €176.70
· Three + primary, two + post primary - €201.50
Mr McNamara said: “From today, families will receive an email from Bus Éireann if they are eligible for a refund.
“The refund will be automatically made to the bank card used to make the payment, or by cheque if a card wasn’t used.
“Bus Éireann says refunds will be issued to all entitled family account holders starting from 30th June until mid-August.”
Minister Foley outlined the significance of Bus Eireann’s role in transporting thousands of students to and from school each year.
She said: “School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education.
“In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.”
