The Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, has announced that all school buses will be fitted with seatbelts by the end of 2006.
The practice of three children sharing two seats will come to an end for all second-level students next term.
The scheme will be extended to all school transport by the end of 2006.
The announcement comes two months after five schoolgirls died in a school bus crash near Navan in Co Meath. The vehicle was not fitted with seatbelts.
A spokesperson for Bus Éireann said that its inquiry into the cause of the Co Meath accident was nearing completion.
- News At One: Mary Hanafin, Minister for Education, discusses the safety upgrades for the school bus fleet
- Nine News: David McCullagh, Political Correspondent, reports on the announcement by the Minister for Education, Mary Hanfin
- Six One News: Eleanor Petri, President of the National Parents' Council, discusses the safety measures
- Six One News: David McCullagh, Political Correspondent, reports on the safety plans for the school bus fleet
- One News: David McCullagh, Political Correspondent, examines the Govt's package of new safety measures for school buses
