The Department of Education is to review safety on school buses but has no plans to make safety belts compulsory on school buses.
The Minister of State for Education, Mr Willie O'Dea, announcing the review yesterday, said it was necessary after an accident this week in Galway when four schoolgirls fell through the rear window of a bus operated by Bus Eireann. The review will be completed within three months. He also announced improvements to the school transport service costing almost £3 million. Eireann. The review will be completed within three months. In response to the Galway accident, the Fine Gael spokesman on transport, Mr Jim Higgins, said all school buses should be subject to the National Car Test.
At yesterday's announcement of the review, Bus Eireann officials said the bus fleet was subject to safety checks every six weeks and to rigorous annual tests and Mr O'Dea praised the company's "excellent safety record".
On safety belts, the Minister said it was unrealistic to fit them in the 2,500 vehicles used in the school transport system but said the impact of the new British regulations, where seatbelts on school buses are compulsory, was being monitored. The improvements to the school transport service include:
The number of eligible primary pupils required to establish a new school bus service will be reduced from 10 to seven
A reduction in the qualifying distance for primary school pupils aged 10 and over from three to two miles
The distance required for pupils to qualify for remote area and other grants will be reduced from three to two miles, with the grants being paid to each family.