CLARE Sinn Féin TD, Violet-Anne Wynne, has called on the Department of Education to immediately clarify the finer details around the July provision transportation grant.
“I have been contacted by a number of families who are still in the dark in terms of when this grant will be paid. In this unprecedented time of Covid-19 families are forced to budget every penny of their household income to ensure they can keep going. Every year the department would have normally supplied transport via a contract through Bus Eireann, this year that was stopped due to Covid-19, leaving families to have to arrange their own transport to and from schools,” Deputy Wynne stated.
“While parents were happy to arrange same, they have since been left in the dark by the department on when they will be able to reclaim these expenses from the grant scheme. Some parents have told me how they have been making round trips of 130km twice a day to drop and collect from schools. This does not come cheap. All these families want is some clarity on when this money will be reimbursed back to them so they can plan ahead. I have submitted two questions to the Minister on this matter so far and the responses have only left more questions needing to be answered. I am calling on the minister to give some peace of mind to these families that have been some of the worst affected by the covid pandemic,” the Kilrush based TD added.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.