Bus Éireann has rejected allegations by Fine Gael TD Mr Jim Higgins that school buses operated by the company are "ramshackle".
According to a statement released by the company today, all buses are tested annually for roadworthiness under Department of the Environment regulations.
The statement is in response to claims by Mr Higgins that school buses were not being independently assessed for quality. Mr Higgins alleges that the roadworthiness tests are being carried out on Bus Éireann premises and therefore cannot be considered independent.
He has called for the majority of school buses to be scrapped or replaced on a phased basis.
Bus Éireann said the present level of funding for school transport does not provide for the purchase of new school buses.
Mr Higgins produced maintenance records for two school buses operating in Co Mayo which date from 1981 and 1983. The buses had 23 and 22 breakdowns respectively over a period of under two and a half years, despite having passed Department of Environment Roadworthiness Tests.
In a letter to Mr Higgins last year on the issue, the Minister for Education Dr Michael Woods said "narrow country roads and pot-holed terrain, over which school buses typically travel, subject the coaches to considerable structural stress, which is a contributory factor in their failure rate."
A spokesman for the Department of Education said that all school buses have passed Department of Environment regulations, as well as regular tests by Bus Éireann. He added that age alone does not determine the safety of a vehicle.