The President, Mary McAleese, has led expressions of sympathy from political leaders this evening after this afternoon's serious road accident in Co Meath.
Speaking from Seattle on a visit to North America, Mrs McAleese expressed her shock and distress at the tragic loss of young life in the accident.
She sent her deepest sympathy to those who have been bereaved and said her thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Bus Éireann has confirmed that the school bus involved in the crash was not fitted with seatbelts.
The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin - who this evening travelled to Navan - said that it was a terrible tragedy, and it was too early to talk about safety issues.
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has described the accident as an appalling tragedy.
Speaking from CityWest where he was attending a fundraiser for suicide prevention, Mr Ahern said it was a huge shock for the local community.
He praised the work of the emergency services at the scene.
Speaking on behalf of Fine Gael, the party's education and science spokesperson, Olwyn Enright TD, said that thoughts were with all families who have lost loved ones in the accident.
Ms Enright said it was particularly tragic that children returning home from school were involved in an accident of such a serious nature.
She said that while immediate concern was for those injured, she also called for the circumstances of the crash to be investigated to the fullest extent.
Speaking on behalf of Labour, the party's transport spokesperson, Roisin Shortall, offered her deepest sympathy to the families of those killed and to those injured in what she called today's shocking accident.
Ms Shortall said the involvement of children among the casualties made the accident all the more horrific.
Referring to last February's bus crash on Wellington Quay in central Dublin in which five people were killed, she expressed concern that this was the second major accident involving buses in just over a year, and called for a full investigation to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
