The parents of two Carrick-on-Suir children with special needs refused school bus transport to school in Cashel despite the availability of places on school bus services serving both towns have lodged complaints with the Ombudsman for Children.
Little Calista Roche from Mountain View, Ballylynch, who has Down's syndrome, missed her first month of education along with speech therapy at Scoil Cormac in Cashel when it re-opened for the new school year in September because her family had no mea
ns of transporting her to school each day.
Thankfully a Carrick-on-Suir based Polish family, the Zarzekas, whose autistic daughter Natalia was also refused bus transport to Scoil Aonghusa in Cashel, stepped into the breach.
Natalia's grandfather is now driving the two children to and from Cashel every day - a round trip of over 60 miles.
Calista's mother Martina Power and Natalia's mother Katarzyna say their children were refused bus transport to school because the Department of Education's School Transport Scheme doesn't deem Scoil Cormac and Scoil Aonghusa to be the nearest special need schools for Carrick-on-Suir children. Bus transport will only be approved for their daughters if they attend special needs schools in Waterford City.
However, other children with special needs from Carrick-on-Suir and its surrounding communities are transported by bus to Scoil Cormac and Scoil Aonghusa every day. There are an estimated two school buses serving Carrick-on-Suir and the Cashel special needs school.
Both families appealed the decisions to the School Transport Appeals Board but the decisions were upheld.
Katarzyna pointed out that her daughter had no other option but to go to Scoil Aonghusa as there are no places at the moment in St Joseph's School in Waterford for any more children with autism. There is a waiting list of up to six children, which Natalia is the last to join.
In Calista's case, Martina Power said she was advised by her daughter's speech therapist and child psychologist to send her to Scoil Cormac as the school teaches and educates through a basic form of sign language called Lamh, which Calista was educated through at her former pre-school in Clonmel. This sign language is not taught at St Joseph's, although some of its staff members can communicate through Lamh to students, who use the language.
"I have two reports that say Calista needs to be taught in an environment where Lamh is routinely used and understood by others, said Martina.
When Calista's application for bus transport was refused , Martina said she also investigated sending her daughter to local primary schools but they either had no places or were unsuitable for her daughter's needs.
She is particularly angry at the Department of Education's decision because there are spaces on existing buses bringing children with special needs from Carrick-on-Suir to school in Cashel daily.
"I was willing to pay towards the bus transport but wasn't allowed to do that and was also prepared to bring Calista to a particular pick up point for the bus," she said.
"Only for Natalia's family bringing Calista to school she would be at home with nothing. We would be lost. I have never seen anyone do anything so nice in all my life," said Martina.
Katarzyna Zarzeka claimed the fact there was no place in St Joseph's School in Waterford for Natalia was not taken into account in the appeal they took to the School Transport Appeals Board.
"They didn't care about that. Natalia has to go to Cashel. It's the only school where there is a place for her. I don't know why they refused me. It's illogical, it's the nearest place," she said.
At the beginning of the school year, Katarzyna and her husband, who live in Castle Heights, Carrick-on-Suir, shared the driving to Scoil Aonghusa but due to work shift changes Natalia and Calista are now mostly driven to school by Natalia's grandfather Marian Stopyra.
Katarzyna said when Marian drops off the two children to school he waits around Cashel for several hours to collect them and bring them home as it's not worth his while driving back to Carrick-on-Suir.
Fine Gael TD Tom Hayes highlighted Calista Roche's case in the Dail a few weeks ago and asked Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe to intervene in the case.
He said he was very annoyed the Department of Education hasn't seen fit to allow these two children bus transport to their schools.
"It's another case of the most vulnerable people in our community being neglected. It's very, very unfair. These two children could easily be facilitated if there was a willingness to do it and I am annoyed there isn't that willingness to sort this out," said the TD.
In a statement, the Department of Education said it did not comment on individual cases.
It explained that under the terms of the School Transport Scheme for children with special needs, a child is eligible for school transport if they are attending the nearest recognised mainstream school, special class or special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet the child's special educational needs under the Department's criteria.
The Department added that parents not satisfied with school transport decisions may appeal to the School Transport Appeals Board.
Minister of State in the Department of Education Sean Haughey did specifically comment on Calista Roche's case in his reply to Tom Hayes' parliamentary question.
He said the pupil in question was not attending the nearest special needs school and was therefore not eligible for school transport. The case was the subject of an appeal, which the appeals board had determined on.
The Ombudsman for Children's office said school transport was one of the top five areas of complaint it dealt with every year. It would not comment on individual cases.
