Ms Anne Graham:

The Deputy asked that the Local Link offices be involved. They will be crucial to the delivery of the service. They would be very much involved, particularly in identifying the areas we pilot first. We would not be in a position to proceed unless they were involved.

Deputy Ó Cuív said rural Ireland is totally discriminated against. We have had this argument at this committee before. We obviously do not agree. We try to provide services, both urban and rural, to the extent that we can, with the budgets we have available. We try not to discriminate between one area and another. We just try to provide a service that meets local demand, knowing that there are gaps and that there are limits to what we can provide based on our budgets.

We are committed to trying the service out, piloting it and determining the pitfalls, if any. It is also a question of being able to identify the cost of delivering the service nationwide. Currently, we do not have the funding to deliver it on that level. I believe that answers Deputy Ó Cuív's questions.

On Deputy Danny Healy-Rae's questions, Local Link offices are going to be very much involved. We rely on their local knowledge to assist us in putting the pilot in place.

Mr. Creegan shall respond to Senator Humphreys's questions.