Bus Eireann has urged families to confirm their school transport requirement for 2022/2023 as the deadline for submissions approaches.
The family portal has reopened, and families must confirm their request by Friday, July 29.
The news comes following the Government announcement that the school transport scheme will be free to families in 2022/2023.
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Free school transport is a temporary measure introduced by the Government to provide assistance to families for the current year, and the normal eligibility criteria remains unchanged.
Miriam Flynn, Chief Schools Officer, Bus Éireann, said: “We have emailed all registered families this morning advising them of their next steps.
“The first thing they should do is to check their in-box. The email has a link to bring them directly to the new confirmation page on the website.
“It is fantastic to be able to offer free school transport for this coming school year.
The system is a little different but very simple – it just requires people to click a button to request their ticket.
“We are urging them to log in to the portal as quickly as possible and get that confirmation in as tickets cannot issue without this request on the system.”
People who have already made a payment for school transport do not need to take any further action and will be refunded around the start of the school year.
Those who have applied but have not yet made a payment will need to log in and request their ticket on the portal.
People with medical cards do not need to enter their medical card details but do need to log in and request their ticket on the portal.
The charges for school transport will be waived for a year, benefitting 121,000 children.
The news comes after the Government announced earlier this month that the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance would be increased by €100 per child from August.
The allowance paid for children aged between four and 11 years will increase from €160 to €260, while it will increase from €285 to €385 for those over 11.
Those eligible have already begun receiving the allowance payment , with the increased amount being paid from August.
The school meals programme is also being expanded from September to include an extra 60,000 children.
The new measures will see 290,000 children benefit from the meals programme and 120,000 families getting the back-to-school allowance .
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