Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank everybody who came before the committee today for being here. I would like to follow up on Deputy Canney's question on expanding the Local Link in rural areas. When will the service be fully accessible? It is important for people in rural areas in terms of their independence and personal mobility. Ms Graham spoke about bringing forward a consultation on that. Is there some kind of timeframe on that? Does Ms Graham have any idea how long it will take?

Ms Graham also spoke about funding. At this point we hope or like to think that funding for any kind of public transports being brought in would be inclusive of the fact the transport has to be accessible, that it is not an additional stream of funding one has to apply for in order to make it accessible. We hope it would be a given at this stage. Can the witnesses expand on that situation? That would be great.

People with disabilities have to wait at bus stops in rural Ireland. They do not have any shelter or adequate shelter all the time, which is problematic. What is the National Transport Authority doing about that? Does it have a work programme to address the issues? To what extent is that funded? Any information on that would be great.

What is the target date for the NTA working towards the elimination of the practice of requiring people with disabilities to ring ahead to access transport services? If the NTA has the figures for the buses purchased or ordered in January 2020, how many of them have two wheelchair spaces? What plans does the NTA have to retrofit buses which only have one at present? If there is time, I will come back in with more questions afterwards. I will start with those first and ask the question on Local Link be prioritised.