Remote Area Grant(School Transport)

natc

Hi I’m just wondering if anyone has received this payment yet for the last school year? Previous years I would have received it by now but no sign of anything yet.

wifey28

no nothing yet, the letters did say they hoped to pay by mid july

this is our first year recieving it

natc

wifey28 wrote: »

no nothing yet, the letters did say they hoped to pay by mid july

this is our first year recieving it

I don’t receive a letter with payment info. I applied the first year and automatically received it every year since so I’ve no idea when to expect the payment or if I’ll even receive it!

natc

wifey28 wrote: »

no nothing yet, the letters did say they hoped to pay by mid july

this is our first year recieving it

Did you receive the payment yet? I haven’t received anything so I’m assuming im not getting the payment automatically this year.

wifey28

i ihavent recieved anything but was told monday wasthe deadline for forms to be returned
so maybe soon
I dunno if you didnt recieve a letter if youll get it automatically, i would call them to check

natc

wifey28 wrote: »

i ihavent recieved anything but was told monday wasthe deadline for forms to be returned
so maybe soon
I dunno if you didnt recieve a letter if youll get it automatically, i would call them to check

Yeah think I might just call them. I’ve received it every year automatically since I first applied 5 years ago so would be surprised if I had to apply again this year.

Maybe they have changed their procedures and I must reapply. Either way I’ll give them a call and see. Thanks

wifey28

their phone lines are disabled from 10 to 1 daily cuz they have high numbes of forms to process
but the message says they aare currantly processing payments and they willbe recieved shortly

md323

Has anyone recieved their payment yet?

natc

I haven’t received payment yet anyway.

Picky owner

Anybody get the payment yet,think last year I had it by now..

md323

Picky owner wrote: »

Anybody get the payment yet,think last year I had it by now..

Nope nothing yet.

Picky owner

md323 wrote:

Nope nothing yet.

Leaving it late, daughter is back two weeks today!

natc

Another Monday and no payment here....

jopax

natc wrote: »

Another Monday and no payment here....

Same here

md323

Still nothing....

jopax

md323 wrote: »

Still nothing....

Same again today

splinter65

jopax wrote: »

Same again today

I rang the number this morning. There’s a message telling you that if you're ringing about the grant that they are continuing to process the applications and that if you’ve submitted the correct paperwork that you’ll get it in due time.
It says that they’ve stopped answering the phone between 10 and 1 in order to concentrate on processing the claims.

natc

At this stage I’m looking at it as Christmas savings! Highly doubtful we will get it before school returns. I don’t understand why they can’t even say what day of receipt they are working on...at least people would know then if they are close to paying out on their application.

glen123

It's the first time this year we've applied and i sent in a form filled out by the school 2 months ago. No acknowledgement back.
Tried to ring 057-9325466 - my call got transferred where there was just an answering machine. Left a message but I doubt anybody will call me back.

Is the above number correct? Or there is no point in ringing them?
Thanks.

wifey28

glen123 wrote: »

It's the first time this year we've applied and i sent in a form filled out by the school 2 months ago. No acknowledgement back.
Tried to ring 057-9325466 - my call got transferred where there was just an answering machine. Left a message but I doubt anybody will call me back.

Is the above number correct? Or there is no point in ringing them?
Thanks.

Theres not much point calling, Theyve shut down the phone lines between 10 and 1 to process claims. And any other time of day ive called its rang out.


Its also my dfirst year getting the payment, we applied before april 2018 for the last school year so this will be the first payment. Everyone hadtoldme its usually paid out mid july so a bit disapointed its now a week to them going back and not yet got it, especially for those having to pay for private busses

splinter65

glen123 wrote: »

It's the first time this year we've applied and i sent in a form filled out by the school 2 months ago. No acknowledgement back.
Tried to ring 057-9325466 - my call got transferred where there was just an answering machine. Left a message but I doubt anybody will call me back.

Is the above number correct? Or there is no point in ringing them?
Thanks.

Yes the number is correct and the answering machine was telling you that the phones are closed between 10 and 1 while they try to process the applications

glen123

splinter65 wrote: »

Yes the number is correct and the answering machine was telling you that the phones are closed between 10 and 1 while they try to process the applications

I rang at around 2pm today, right before I posted here. A week ago I rang at 9.30 and nobody answered the phone at all. At least today a man answered and re-directed my call which hit the voicemail after 7-8 rings.

I remember last year, when my daughter's transport was cancelled after 4 years of us using it, I was given this number to call to enquire about this grant. The person I needed to speak to wasn't available but he called me back which left me under impression it was a very small department dealing with these claims? I could be wrong. I wonder if the backlog this year is due to many people like me who suddenly lost the school transport having to make a claim...

One for you

No sign today of the grant.... Anyone received the remittance yet? Pity they are not giving timelines...

jopax

One for you wrote: »

No sign today of the grant.... Anyone received the remittance yet? Pity they are not giving timelines...

Haven't got it yet either, I can't understand why is it so late, in previous years I had received it in July.

One for you

Just got the remittance - payment expected tomorrow

wifey28

One for you wrote: »

Just got the remittance - payment expected tomorrow

Ok first timer q here,whats the remittance?

One for you

wifey28 wrote: »

Ok first timer q here,whats the remittance?

Its basically a notice of payment that they are making to your account.
If you gave an email address at the time of submitting the application they'll send it to that.

natc

My payment landed in my account just now, happy days!

wifey28

still nothing here
Kids back on thursday

jopax

wifey28 wrote: »

still nothing here
Kids back on thursday

I got mine today, you would assume they would be sent together

wifey28

did anyone else not recieve this payment yet?

Getting worried now that they have mistransposed my payment details, cant remember if i gave an email but im sure i did, nothing there about payment either

And ive tried calling all hours of the day they never pick up!

glen123

Nothing for me either. First time application and i didn't include payment details either, but nobody rang or emailed me as of yet.

wifey28

glen123 wrote: »

Nothing for me either. First time application and i didn't include payment details either, but nobody rang or emailed me as of yet.

Did you only apply in april this year? If so thats for the comming school year and its paid in arrears next july based off how many days teh child attendsschool


They sent out lettersearly june to collect bank details for new applicants tobe paid supposedly in july. But thats for thelast school year

jopax

Could you check with the school secretary to see if was submitted from their end also?

wifey28

jopax wrote: »

Could you check with the school secretary to see if was submitted from their end also?

I asked today and she said it was sentthe last day of school as now its like a list they have to fill out instead of the individual onesthey had to do before this year

glen123

wifey28 wrote: »

Did you only apply in april this year? If so thats for the comming school year and its paid in arrears next july based off how many days teh child attendsschool


They sent out lettersearly june to collect bank details for new applicants tobe paid supposedly in july. But thats for thelast school year

No, I've applied for 2018/2019 school year. My daughter lost her school transport before the start of last year and School Transport office told me that i'd be able to apply for this grant once the school year is over.

So I downloaded the attendance form, got the school to fill it in end of June for 2018/2019 year and sent it to the office dealing with these grants. I enclosed a letter explaining what happened in 2018 and that I wish to apply and also included a screenshot from the School Transport's website where my daughter's name is shown with "application not available" shown beside it meaning we can no longer apply for school transport as it isn't available.

If i ring School Transport office, would they have any visibility of these grant applications as they are easier to get through? Or I'll send them another letter with my bank account details.

wifey28

glen123 wrote: »

No, I've applied for 2018/2019 school year. My daughter lost her school transport before the start of last year and School Transport office told me that i'd be able to apply for this grant once the school year is over.

So I downloaded the attendance form, got the school to fill it in end of June for 2018/2019 year and sent it to the office dealing with these grants. I enclosed a letter explaining what happened in 2018 and that I wish to apply and also included a screenshot from the School Transport's website where my daughter's name is shown with "application not available" shown beside it meaning we can no longer apply for school transport as it isn't available.

If i ring School Transport office, would they have any visibility of these grant applications as they are easier to get through? Or I'll send them another letter with my bank account details.

Its a strange case, usually this grant has to be appliedfor before the end of april the year before so i dunno if they will grant it for last year tbh


Ive tried calling them and they do not pick up the phone at anytime of the day

glen123

wifey28 wrote: »

Its a strange case, usually this grant has to be appliedfor before the end of april the year before so i dunno if they will grant it for last year tbh


Ive tried calling them and they do not pick up the phone at anytime of the day

Interesting. Back in 2018 School Transport people, when they suspended our transport, they never provided me with any options or instructions of what to do about any grants etc. It was mentioned to me by them over the phone but that's about it.

Besides, the grants section should have at least sent me a rejection of some sort or an acknowledgement?

I think ill send another letter (registered this time) with the copy of previous correspondence and will request an acknowledgement it has been received.

wifey28

glen123 wrote: »

Interesting. Back in 2018 School Transport people, when they suspended our transport, they never provided me with any options or instructions of what to do about any grants etc. It was mentioned to me by them over the phone but that's about it.

Besides, the grants section should have at least sent me a rejection of some sort or an acknowledgement?

I think ill send another letter (registered this time) with the copy of previous correspondence and will request an acknowledgement it has been received.

They dont usually send letters at all bar the one to ask for bank details in june, you apply online on the bus eireann school transport page, aplications open for 8 weeks or so around april for the following school year, and are always paid in arrears in the july

wifey28

https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=522


this is the application process, and the closing date for next year applicants was april 26th

there is no proces to apply for last year or even next year now that its so far past the application date.
To qualify you must be living more than 3.2km from the school and it must be the nearest school based on language and ethos, gaescoil and non-demoninational schools are not disqualified if there is a nearer catholic/non gaelscoil, to you for you to qualify

While its unfortunate, its highly likely that you will not be afforded the grant for last year or next year as you missed the application dates, and will have to wait and apply for the following year when aps open in march again.
Ive checked through all the faq etc, and they only state that applications must be made by april 30th for the following school year.

natc

wifey28 wrote: »

https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=522


this is the application process, and the closing date for next year applicants was april 26th

there is no proces to apply for last year or even next year now that its so far past the application date.
To qualify you must be living more than 3.2km from the school and it must be the nearest school based on language and ethos, gaescoil and non-demoninational schools are not disqualified if there is a nearer catholic/non gaelscoil, to you for you to qualify

While its unfortunate, its highly likely that you will not be afforded the grant for last year or next year as you missed the application dates, and will have to wait and apply for the following year when aps open in march again.
Ive checked through all the faq etc, and they only state that applications must be made by april 30th for the following school year.

That’s for applying for a seat on an actual bus that serves your area. The remote area grant is there for those who cannot access school bus transport when they meet the qualifying criteria.

The grant is applied for, after the school year as you need the attendance record for the pupil in order to receive payment for the days attended in the school year.

wifey28

natc wrote: »

That’s for applying for a seat on an actual bus that serves your area. The remote area grant is there for those who cannot access school bus transport when they meet the qualifying criteria.

The grant is applied for, after the school year as you need the attendance record for the pupil in order to receive payment for the days attended in the school year.

Yes but its a direct thing
If you qualify for a bus seat and there is no bus available you automatically get the grant, and if its a first time applying they send you a form in june to fill out details and payment details.



You dont actually apply for the grant, its paid to those who apply for the bus tickets and qualify but have no actual bus serving their area


I never had to apply for the grant, only apply for the school transport ticket, we were approved but the bus doesnt serve our area so we automatically get the grant

Granuailelass

natc wrote: »

That’s for applying for a seat on an actual bus that serves your area. The remote area grant is there for those who cannot access school bus transport when they meet the qualifying criteria.

The grant is applied for, after the school year as you need the attendance record for the pupil in order to receive payment for the days attended in the school year.

Unfortunately I think that you may not get it. I was in that position last year and I had applied the same time as you under very similar circumstances and just assumed that I would get it but it wasn’t until the end of last summer that I was told that they would net back date it and I did not get it for last year. I have my fingers crossed that I will get it this year as my first application went in June 2017!

glen123

wifey28 wrote: »

Yes but its a direct thing
If you qualify for a bus seat and there is no bus available you automatically get the grant, and if its a first time applying they send you a form in june to fill out details and payment details.



You dont actually apply for the grant, its paid to those who apply for the bus tickets and qualify but have no actual bus serving their area


I never had to apply for the grant, only apply for the school transport ticket, we were approved but the bus doesnt serve our area so we automatically get the grant

Well, this is more or less what hapened to us. For years I applied for school transport on their website, transport was approved, we got a tkt and a transport. Then last year when application process was open and we applied, a woman rang from the Limerick school transport office and said my daugher wouldnt be getting the bus for 2018/2019 because she would be the only one using the transport and it was not feasible for them. She gave me a number for Grant's section. I spoke to a man who told me the amount i'd be able to get but he never explained how to apply. I rang the woman back, told her ok - we'd have to go with the grant if no transport available for my daughter anymore (even though she did qualify, as usual) and that was it.

I presume, School transport office should have done something on their side to make sure I get the grant this year?

Online, in my account sections of School Transport section all year round against my daughter's name is the following:

Status - No Service Available
Category - Sorry - There is no service available at this time

So I cannot apply for anything because the option is disabled (I checked months ago, just in case)

I think, i'll ring the School Transport office to see if they did something wrong on their side and never forwarded anything to the Grant's section.

natc

Granuailelass wrote: »

Unfortunately I think that you may not get it. I was in that position last year and I had applied the same time as you under very similar circumstances and just assumed that I would get it but it wasn’t until the end of last summer that I was told that they would net back date it and I did not get it for last year. I have my fingers crossed that I will get it this year as my first application went in June 2017!

I did get it. I received payment last week. We became eligible for school transport in December one year when the school changed location over Christmas. No bus service was available once they moved so the school gave me forms to fill out and send off. I did this and then a couple of weeks later received payment. I have received it automatically every year since.

Not sure what has gone wrong for you regards your payment. It seems like you applied as usual for school transport last year but didn’t receive the service despite being eligible so you should have received the grant based on attendance for the last school year.

splinter65

From the citizens info site on how to apply for the remote area grant:

Applications for the remote area grant
You should apply in writing directly to the School Transport section of the Department of Education and Skills at the address below.

Department of Education and Skills
School Transport Section
Portlaoise Road
Tullamore
Offaly
Ireland

Tel: (057) 932 5466/7
Fax: (057) 932 5477
Homepage: http://www.education.ie

Granuailelass

Is anyone else still waiting on payment?

wifey28

Granuailelass wrote: »

Is anyone else still waiting on payment?

yep still waiting


theyve taken off the hold o the phoneline fbut they still do not answer

wifey28

is anyone else still waiting?

splinter65

wifey28 wrote: »

is anyone else still waiting?

My friend is still waiting. The answering machine on the line ending in 7 says that they are not answering the phones between 10 and 1 so she’s trying this afternoon.
She heard this morning she’s been refused BTSCFA and any help from the CWO about fixing her septic tank so she’s not too happy.

wifey28

splinter65 wrote: »

My friend is still waiting. The answering machine on the line ending in 7 says that they are not answering the phones between 10 and 1 so she’s trying this afternoon.
She heard this morning she’s been refused BTSCFA and any help from the CWO about fixing her septic tank so she’s not too happy.

Ok so I called the number ending in 7 a they answered, they do not answer the one ending in 6, that's what over been calling all along.

My kids go to the rochestown et in Cork and they changed address as they moved to a diff temporary campus so its delayed the payments as they had to confirm the address
They said theyll get it sorted asap