Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree. The primary thing the Government has to do is put in a much larger investment into it. I think €8 million is being put into Connecting Ireland this year and, as the Minister said, Local Link is receiving €28 million. Even that is not a lot of money when one considers the benefit. The demand is there, so when the service is provided, it is absolutely flooded. If the Government is trying to reduce car journeys and help rural Ireland, it should invest in this service because it is needed and I would encourage the Minister to do this.