Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

There are plenty of geographic grant schemes provided by the Department of Social Protection. There is the CLÁR programme. This is not something that would be a departure from Government policy. There has been a recognition that there are geographic disparities when it comes to many policy areas. It would have been a good use of Government and State money to explore this matter in a more nuanced approach rather than having a blanket policy across the State. When we look at factors such as wealth and public transport coverage, and all these types of things, and comparing some areas to others, there are huge disparities evident. The Government is putting the cart before the horse in rural areas because the public transport is not there.