Students will need to stay in allocated bus seats for the school year

Children travelling on school buses will be assigned their own seats at the beginning of the school year and must adhere to that seat for the rest of the year.

All second level pupils will have to wear masks but primary school children under 13 won't be required to.

James Carolan of Nobber who has 17 school bus contracts with Bus Eireann said that all drivers have to wear a mask and shield as children are entering and leaving the bus.

“They have to wear the mask all the time, but they have to use the shield when they are actually driving.”

Mr Carolan said it will be difficult to get primary school children to remain in the one seat every day.

“We will just have go sit them down and tell them that they have to stay there,” he said.

Mr Carolan agreed with the Coach Tourism and Transport Council (CTTC) that the allowance granted by Bus Eireann for Covid-19 provisions for school buses was inadequate.

CTTC said private bus companies have been offered between €4.50 and €8.50 per day for enhanced santisation, cleaning and the provision of PPE on school buses across all routes.

“It won't go very far. We paid out €1,900 today for sanitation units. It doesn't stop there – the sanitising liquid won't last all that long and will have to be refilled. Then we have to provide masks to all the drivers each day and we have to provide shields.”

However, Mr Carolan said everyone involved was looking forward to getting back to work.

CTTC has called on Bus Eireann to enter into talks with them at their earliest possible convenience in order to resolve urgent issues pertaining to health and safety.

Chairman John Halpenny said “The amount granted is totally unsatisfactory in circumstances where it falls far short of the costs expected to be incurred. Offering as little as €4.50 a day to operators to deep clean and sanitise school buses, and provide PPE fails to recognise the considerable expense our members will have to go to.

“Operators are desperate to get back in motion again after a long lay-off and they are fully committed to upholding the highest possible safety standards but we have to face the reality. Every operator is under severe pressure and this pitiful allowance serves to only exploit their precarious position.”

Mr Halpenny said: “We have made our concerns known to Bus Eireann which regretfully has fallen on deaf ears and this is most disappointing when safety is at the core of the issue.”

Mr Halpenny said he hoped “this will not cause disruption to the school transportation system”.

The CTTC is Ireland’s largest representative body for coach touring companies, and private bus operators. Its members are providers of international tours, school transport and private hire. In total there are 1,721 coach operators in Ireland, carrying over 75 million passengers per year, supporting 11,457 jobs.