Ms Deirdre Hanlon:

That is an interesting set of points and one that has come up from a few members of the committee. It is one we will refer back to our colleagues in Iarnród Éireann and the National Transport Authority.

Timetabling issues are core operational issues for the transport companies. Timetabling is done primarily by the public service transport providers and, in the particular case raised, by the rail company. Overall, especially in the bus area, timetabling is overseen by the NTA. The authority has a role but there is no role for Ministers or Departments in respect of operational matters. Yet, the fact that Deputies and Senators are raising this as a point is one of the things we are interested in hearing about today and it will feed back into our thinking about the development of services, public transport policy, the approaches that can best be developed for the future and how public transport can best be articulated for the public.

The Deputy is correct in respect of the point about rural hackneys. The rural hackney licence was an innovation introduced by the transport regulator several years ago in or around 2012. It was a response to the fact that in rural areas there was an identified issue about the availability of taxi services. It was thought that this might provide an additional feature that could be availed of by some people. It has not proven popular. Deputy Ó Cuív asked whether there is a proposal to review it. Some review work is under way with the taxi advisory committee and the National Transport Authority, which is the statutory regulator for taxis. In the course of this work one of the issues they will look at is the fact that the rural hackney licence, although introduced as an innovation, has not been taken up much. They will examine the reasons and whether there are other ways of approaching the matter that could be useful to pursue. Some suggestions were made in the course of comments today. We will reference this back to those involved in the review.

Other points were raised. I will not go over the points on the LocalLink service again but I referenced the service in the opening statement. There has been strong development of the service. There seems to be strong and positive feedback about it throughout the country. Obviously, that is a good thing but there is cause for more. We have been able to provide additional funding for the service through a combination of specific funding for the rural transport programme and through the public service obligation programme as well. Communities throughout the country are seeing the benefits. Small interventions can have a major effect and impact on linking people and places. That was the phrase the Minister of State chose when launching the transport part of the national development plan. That is the critical theme those involved are trying to speak to in developing these proposals.

Senator Hopkins asked about the policy statement that we are working on bringing forward and whether it will translate directly into benefits for rural Ireland or rural people. She asked how they will know when it is done and whether they will see the benefits. I suppose what we are talking about with a policy statement is a gathering together and articulation of State policy or Government policy in respect of a particular area. In this case, it is useful to look at public transport and other areas of our Department. Public transport is an area where we have not yet pulled together one single cohesive statement synthesising the policy. We have any number of policy documents here, there and everywhere but we do not have a synthesis. The Department has worked on that approach in recent years. It has been done for aviation policy. There is a single document called the national aviation strategy. We have a national tourism strategy. Recently, only this summer, a national sport policy document was pulled together by the Department synthesising the approach to things. It was launched by the Minister and Minister of State. The aim for public transport is to do something similar.

Of itself, a policy statement does not necessarily make anyone's life any better but it provides in a single place a coherent and easily accessible definition of what we are trying to do. It enables a discussion on what we should be doing as we come to formulate policy and then it allows for Government to agree on the key principles. These are not likely to be principles alien to what has been done heretofore, but the statement represents a synthesis, an articulation and a setting down in one place at one time of what is expected to be at the core. It offers guidance for Government, policy-makers and the plethora of agencies, including State agencies, working in the sector. It guides them for the future. It is a something of a reference point they can use as a compass to check they are navigating in the right direction.

Deputy Collins asked about bus services linking with rail. Again, that is in or around timetabling so it is not a matter the Department deals with directly, but it is interesting to hear that perspective and to hear of the real need to provide connectivity and interconnection by ensuring the various strands and facets of public transport that we provide link up with one another. The NTA has a specific role in the integration of transport. That was seen by the legislators and policy developers around 2008 and 2009 when the NTA legislation was being developed. This is critical because it helps us to get beyond the sum of the parts. If we have a bus service providing a given level of service and a rail service provider another level, then they are good. If we can have some level of integration that makes sense and that still has a healthy competitive tension then we can get better outcomes. We will reference that matter to the NTA to examine for the Deputy.

The Deputy also asked about potential bus licensing for a commercial operator interested in providing a bus service. This is something the NTA does, although going back some years it would previously have been done by the Department. The NTA runs this now. A good deal of information is available on the NTA website if parties are interested in developing a proposal for a bus route and have ideas. The website provides guidance on how to make applications. It also gives an outline of the timeframe for making an application, the timeframe within which an applicant can expect to have a licence application turned around and when the applicant can expect to have a response.

The question of disability and transport services was raised. I only touched on this briefly in the opening statement because of the length of other matters but there is an increasing drive to improve the accessibility of public transport. There have been strong improvements over several years and the Department has become more involved with stakeholders in the sector by engaging with them regularly to get a better understanding of the needs and how they can best be dealt with through the public transport systems we have.

We are not there yet. There are elements of the system that are not yet fully working or are not working as cogently as we would expect. That said, within the cities, there is 100% accessibility on the urban transport fleet.

There is substantial accessibility at bus stops. In the context of the urban transport fleet, there are a small number of bus stops that have still to be upgraded. By and large, there is a good story within the cities. Around the country the situation is not as good but it is improving over time. Within its network, as Bus Éireann replaces its coaches, it is replacing them with coaches that have improved accessibility. It has gotten to a level now where 86% of its coach fleet is accessible. That said, we are back to the same issue. Is the bus stop compatible with an accessible coach? It tends to be that journeys between bus stations are accessible but if one is getting off at other points in between places, which many people are, accessibility is not as good. For that reason, the NTA is rolling out a programme to improve the accessibility of bus stops throughout the country. It is trying to do it on a route basis. The routes it has picked to start with are the Dublin-Donegal routes where there is no alternative public transport service and no rail service. It is trying to start it there. It is scheduling to develop it around the country. I do not know the precise pattern on which it is doing it. I am not aware of what the plans are specifically.