Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Troy for the general welcome he has given and for some sensible and constructive questions.

Deputy Troy asked about the timing. The announcement was on 27 February. The applications had to come in by 16 March. We are talking about a period of two and a half weeks. Deputy Troy is right to suggest that it is a little tight. That is a fair point. The period has been extended until 1 June for anyone who did not apply. That is quite a considerable extension. We received 50 applications. There was no indication of dissatisfaction with them in respect of the timing. I am only speculating but I believe there may be one or two of those who were left out or who did not apply who may have found the timetable too tight. That is why we extended it. I believe we should continue to be flexible about it and that is why it is a pilot scheme for six months. The idea is that over the six-month period we will make changes or the National Transport Authority will make changes or suggest changes. There will probably be new routes or services that will be considered and the Local Link groups that made applications will probably be welcome to change their applications during that period as a result of the findings. If there are gaps, I imagine the NTA will be more than happy to fill them. This is not only a pilot. It will also teach serious lessons about where routes are right or wrong, where the demand is, where society is benefiting and where it is not.

The timetable is tight. We were keen to get it in for the summer season. There are procurement delays of several weeks for one or two of these routes. We want to do it as quickly as possible. It is an urgent problem. My guess is that if we had said the window was six months, then people would have asked why we could not do it in two or three weeks because the summer season needs the service. We will certainly consider further applications during this period and representations will be considered seriously. We want this to work.

I listened to what Deputy Troy had to say about people going out at 10.30 p.m. If that is true and there is a need for the service at 10.30 p.m., it may present some logistical difficulties. I have no operational role in this but I would urge the NTA to look at the possibility of people leaving after 10 p.m. If that is necessary, if it is the reality that people go out, if there is demand for the service and if it will help people and reduce loneliness, then we should consider it. We have to be reasonable about that and we should certainly consider it.

Deputy Troy asked about the metrics after six months. The NTA has said that it will look at this over six months. The authority has not spelt out what the metrics will be. This is not a commercial operation and it is not in place to make money. The main metric of this, as far as I am concerned, is to reduce the difficulties of society in rural Ireland in getting together and with connectivity with regard to the loneliness that many people experience. The idea is to improve the quality of people's lives. That is the metric I would urge those involved to use when they are judging whether it is working. Obviously, if it is not working in certain areas or if no one is using it, then it would be a consideration. The major consideration, however, should be the improvement to people's quality of life. That is the most important thing. Society should benefit and society must connect. That is the most important metric.

I gather the idea of a community hackney has been tried before and there was little take-up. I will come back to the Deputy on that point, but I think there was little take-up when this was tried before. From memory, I recall there were ten hackneys used nationwide. It was only a small number.

Many of the extensions will be demand-responsive units. This means they will go down lanes and various places that are not regular routes to collect people. I understand 30 of the 50 are demand-responsive and therefore they will be flexible.

The final question from Deputy Troy related to the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill. The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill and this measure were not conditional on each other. They are completely separate. Rural isolation is one problem. Drink-driving is a completely different problem. If there is a connection, it is in the sense that people can go to the pub and come home having had two pints or more without fearing in any way that they will be stopped or breathalysed for committing an offence on the way home. If this improves the willingness in that regard, that is fine, but they are not in any way conditional upon each other one way or the other. The drink-driving Bill will go through the Dáil in the coming weeks and this will be initiated in the coming weeks, but regardless if one goes through and the other does not, this measure will go through anyway.