Money-raising measures recommended in a leaked report on school transport have been described as "draconian" by the Minister of State for Education and Science, Mr Willie O'Dea. But he did not rule out the introduction of new charges.
The School Transport Review Group recommends charges be introduced for all school-bus users, according to a report in Wednesday's Irish In- dependent.
Medical card-holders would pay £30 a year and other parents £90 up to a maximum of £270 for primary school children. Mr O'Dea said that the previous minister for education, Ms Niamh Bhreathnach, had severely restricted the group's options regarding financing and management of school transport. "In that context, the committee probably had no option but to recommend some of the more draconian proposals."
Mr O'Dea said he would publish the group's report by the end of this month and would take the subsequent debate into consideration before making final decisions.