Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions. The CSP is a good initiative. I agree with Deputy Ó Cuív on the minimum wage and the shortfall that groups must meet. It is putting pressure on them. I am aware of Obair in Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare. It is a large community services project. When the committee was in Dunhill last week, we met a group that complained to us about this issue. It must come up with €20,000 per year. That is a massive burden for a community group to carry.

Regarding taking on other schemes, the Minister mentioned that Local Link would sit better within his Department. I would agree. In recent days, an issue has arisen in County Clare with its Local Link service, which is known as Clare Bus. It has lost the tender to provide the dispatch centre in Feakle, which is a rural community. Six jobs are provided through delivering that service, which is tailor made for the community and has worked well over many years. The provider knows its customers and is in tune with them. For example, if it gets a phone call an hour before a bus departs, it can change the route and pick up people at their homes. It is disturbing that the community is not in a position to retain that service. I will raise this question with the National Transport Authority, NTA, but the programme would be better understood were it within the Minister's Department. I encourage him to do what he can to take it under his umbrella.