Some 200 privately-owned buses operating within the school transport scheme remain to be fitted with seat belts in advance of the new school year, which starts this month, according to the Department of Education.
Bus Éireann said yesterday that all 700 of its school buses would have seat belts fitted by the start of the new term. The Department also said that approximately 85 per cent of privately-owned vehicles contracted through the school transport scheme currently have seat belts fitted, with the remainder on course to be fitted by the end of the year.
A spokeswoman for the Department could not say how many primary school buses were still operating under the "three-for-two" seating arrangement. However, she said it was estimated that 200 school buses, including coaches and mini-buses, remained to be fitted with seat belts.
Private operators have been set a deadline of the end of this year by the Department for their buses to have seat belts or face having their contract withdrawn.
Under the "three-for-two" system, which was phased out for secondary schools at the end of last year, three children share two adult seats on buses.
The system, which has in the past prompted safety concerns following a number of school bus crashes, is being phased out at primary level by the end of this year.
The figures on the number of buses with seat belts fitted, which were provided by the Department of Education yesterday, do not include buses which are hired privately by parents or school authorities.
Minister of State for Education Síle de Valera said at a press conference in Dublin that plans to achieve full compliance with the requirement to have seat belts fitted on all buses within the school transport scheme were "well on target".
She was speaking at the launching of a publicity campaign aimed at informing students and parents about new laws governing the use of seat belts on school buses. Students travelling on school buses are obliged to wear a seat belt where one is provided. If they do not, they can face disciplinary action, including exclusion from the school transport scheme.