School buses will stop under Status Red weather warning says Department of Education

Schools will make decisions on whether they need to close during this week's winter storm but school transport services will not operate if there is a level red weather warning.

A Department of Education representative issued the advice at a the National Emergency Co-ordination Group press conference in Dublin.

A Department of Education representative said a protocol in place in the event of severe whether conditions. He said each school will make a decision on whether or not to close based on 'local conditions'.

He said such decisions would not be made based on whether a school is located in a county that is under a severe weather warning. However, he said under a code Red bus transport would not operate.

"We are going to issue advisories to all schools which say that if a Status Red is issued then obviously school transport is gone then they will make their decisions based on that," he said. 

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John Sheridan of Bus Éireann said schools would be impacted.

"School transport services, in line with policy, will not operate if a Status Red is announced. It will affect up to 116,000 students. In any other weather, be it yellow or orange, school transport services will operate, assuming it is safe to do so," he said.