Private companies to complain over State school bus scheme

PRIVATE BUS companies are to lodge a complaint with the European Commission about Ireland’s management of its school transport system.

The Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland, which represents private bus companies, claims the contract for the school transport scheme contravenes EU law because it is given by the Department of Education to Bus Éireann without a tender procedure.

The organisation also wants the EU to investigate if State aid laws are being broken “because it appears that Bus Éireann’s commercial expressway division receives profits from the school transport scheme”.

Bus Éireann, however, has insisted school transport funding is not used on expressway services.

It said the council had repeatedly failed to provide evidence to back up this “spurious allegation” and called on the council to withdraw the claim. Expressway services were purely commercial and received no public funding.

The council says EU directive 2004-2017 states that public procurement exceeding €4.8 million must be subject to tendering procedures. The school transport scheme is worth about €180 million a year.

Gerry Mullins, chief executive of the coach tourism council, said the decision to complain to the EU was taken reluctantly. They had urged Minister of State for school transport Ciarán Cannon to bring transparency to the scheme’s finances, “but he has failed to do so”.

Bus Éireann said a Government-approved value for money review had found Bus Éireann “is the only body capable of operating such a complex and significant scheme efficiently and effectively”.

“The report stated there is no existing organisation operating in Ireland with the range of expertise in place other than Bus Éireann.”

There are 1,500 private operators involved in the school bus scheme. Fewer than 3 per cent are involved with the Coach Tourism and Transport Council, according to Bus Éireann.

Some 85 per cent, or 3,400 of the vehicles involved in the school scheme, are run by private operators. The State company said it had reduced the cost by €18 million since 2009 with a commitment for a further €1.5 million in administrative savings for 2011.

The council said it had complained to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee which sought a report from the Department of Education.