Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The transport co-ordination units, TCUs, were set up as far back as 2014. I may be wrong about the date. I consult a great deal with my Local Link co-ordinators in Wexford and Waterford. They tell me the NTA is not listening to a word they are saying, that routes are being decided from an office in Dublin that are not relevant to rural Ireland and that is it. I am relaying a message as a public representative on behalf of the constituents who elected me regarding the need to provide a service. We must provide an alternative means of travel, and it must fit the requirements. Therefore, it can not be done from an office in Dublin using Google Maps. It must be done based on genuine co-ordination and not box-ticking. It must be a process involving the TCUs, because they have the people who understand what is required. They cannot be dictated to in a scenario like this because that will not work and it will cost too much. As it stands, Bus Éireann is providing school transport, while section 39 organisations are handling some of our health-related transport. It is all over the place. The TCUs do not appear to be doing what they were set up to do. Policy in this area is becoming more fragmented, as opposed to co-ordinated.