Ms Anne Graham:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend. I understand it wishes me to address the topic of what it takes to sustain a viable rural community and in my statement, I focus in particular on public transport. To assist me in dealing with the committee's subsequent questions, I am joined by Mr. Tim Gaston, who manages the public transport services within the authority.

Before dealing with the specific areas of focus, I will set the context by providing a brief overview of the remit of the authority. The remit is to regulate and develop the provision of integrated public transport services, including bus, light rail, rail and taxi, by public and private operators in the State, to secure the development and implementation of an integrated transport system within the greater Dublin area, and to contribute to the effective integration of transport and land use planning across the State. In addition to its statutory responsibilities, the authority has various arrangements with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to discharge functions on its behalf. This includes the assignment of responsibility to the authority for integrated local and rural transport, including the provision of the rural transport programme.

Public transport in rural areas is provided in the following ways. Iarnród Éireann provides rail services under contract with the NTA. Even though more than 50% of Irish people live within the boundary of a settlement served by rail, the majority of people in rural Ireland would require a journey by another mode to access rail services. Therefore the existing rail network would not generally provide local rural services, but would provide the onward connections to key towns and cities. Any changes to rail services require the approval of the authority. Bus Éireann provides a variety of services through its commercial Expressway services that are licensed by the NTA, and through a network of subsidised public bus services under a direct award contract with the NTA. Both services serve many rural towns, with frequencies varying from several times a day to a weekly service. Any changes to the subsidised services require the approval of the authority.

While the NTA subsidises public bus services under a direct award contract arrangement with Bus Éireann, we are precluded from providing any subvention whatsoever to commercial services such as Expressway. Other commercial operators provide a number of town-to-town services and intercity services across the State without any State subsidy. If Bus Éireann or any commercial operators are required to withdraw any of their commercial services, the authority will work to ensure that communities are not left behind. We have demonstrated that we can respond to these situations in the services that we provide following the withdrawal of Expressway route 5 and the curtailment of route 7 in 2015.

Bus services are provided under the rural transport programme. These bus services are contracted by the NTA and are managed by 17 Local Link offices throughout the State. The services are primarily demand-responsive services, which comprise 80% of all services, but regular scheduled services between towns also are provided under this programme. The objective of the rural transport programme is to provide a good-quality nationwide community-based public transport system in rural Ireland that responds to local needs. In 2016, funding of €11.9 million was provided through the authority for the programme, with an additional €1.5 million provided by the Department of Social Protection under the free travel scheme. Since assuming responsibility for the programme in 2012, we have focused on restructuring the programme to provide greater efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. The restructuring programme included the establishment of 17 Local Link offices, which replaced the 35 rural transport groups previously managing the programme. Local passenger services are managed by the relevant Local Link office in each area on behalf of the authority. This restructuring has positioned the programme to better integrate with other public transport services and provides a solid base to expand or adapt services to meet current and future identified needs. Now that the organisational restructuring has been completed, we are focused on optimising the services provided within the funding envelope available. A review of services is currently in progress to ensure they are meeting the needs of local families in rural areas.

The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has just launched her Department's action plan for rural development, and the authority is committed to delivering on the actions related to rural transport in the plan, which is a key element of that development plan. It is evident that there are gaps in the provision of rural transport services across the State. Local Link offices are working closely with local authorities and local communities on the assessment of local transport needs, including the needs of those who are socially excluded. With the benefit of this local collaboration, we expect to continue to make considerable progress throughout 2017 on refining and expanding where appropriate the operation of local transport services, in addition to ensuring the optimum level of integration with other public transport services. Local Link offices are the NTA's eyes and ears in rural Ireland, and working together, I believe we can make real progress in improving local public transport services. A total of 21 new regular commuter bus services have been secured in the network in 2016. Regular, five, six or seven day-per-week bus services have been introduced following considerable development work by the authority and the relevant offices in counties Cavan, Monaghan, Meath, Kerry, Waterford, Wexford and Sligo-Leitrim-Roscommon.

In 2017, the authority will continue to identify improvements in existing services and developing appropriate new routes, based on the budget of €15.9 million, which includes the €1.5 million from the Department of Social Protection. More than 40 new additional rural transport services are currently being examined by the authority to be delivered across the State this year. Key features of the developments include greater integration with existing public transport services and better linkage of services between and within towns and villages. The authority works continually with Bus Éireann to provide improvements on its contracted services and is looking at expansion of those services now that the budget for public service obligations has increased since 2016. Kerry and Mayo are two counties that have seen improvements and the authority also promoted the improvements in regional cities, which have seen phenomenal growth in passenger numbers.

These improvements cannot be sustained unless significant improvement work is carried out by the city authorities in providing bus priority measures, particularly now that car traffic congestion is growing rapidly. Improved town service will also be delivered in Athlone, following the success of Sligo bus service enhancements. In exercising its functions, the authority seeks to achieve the provision of an integrated public transport system of services, a network for all users. Where appropriate, we seek to integrate and co-ordinate services to provide for seamless travel options, where change of bus, mode or both is required.

This includes the operation of the rural Local Link services, which can facilitate connection to mainline interurban services, irrespective of the provider of those services. The NTA is the only body that can bring modes and operators together in an integrated service pattern that provides the best service for rural communities.

A number of key infrastructural items that support public transport are required to increase the attractiveness of public transport, particularly in rural Ireland, namely, bus shelters, accessible bus stops and information at stops. The provision of additional shelters has been highly constrained in recent years by lack of funding. The contract for the provision and maintenance of bus shelters now rests with the NTA rather than each operator. Therefore, we are now well placed to deliver a comprehensive shelter programme if additional funding is made available. Information provision has improved and new bus stop poles and information were rolled out on a pilot basis in Cork city. Real-time information, while not available on signs at every bus stop, is available on the TFI website and app and through a text messaging service for each service and each operator. However, our ambition to deliver in these areas is very constrained due to lack of funding. The authority will continue to request additional funding for this infrastructure when the mid-term review of the capital plan takes place this year in order that we can deliver a better service for the people of rural Ireland.

Ireland is not alone in having a highly dispersed rural population and a settlement pattern that is difficult to serve by public transport. In an appendix to my statement, I have outlined the strategies suggested by the OECD to improve rural service delivery. We are making many strides in this area.

The authority continues to strive to ensure the delivery of effective and integrated rural transport that serves the needs of rural communities, reduces social exclusion and facilitates those with disabilities. The authority is following recognised best practice in the provision of demand-responsive services in rural areas and the development of technologies that will assist communities to access the services. The authority has prioritised the integration of health-related transport services and rural transport services with the Local Link offices and the HSE. The authority will continue to provide additional rural transport services under the programme up to the funding level provided by the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Social Protection. The authority will seek additional funding in order to improve greatly bus shelter and bus stop information provision in rural Ireland. Good public transport offers many benefits to local communities and is a key contributor to their economic and social well-being. It is just as important to offer social connectivity, access to jobs, education and services in rural areas, which will allow rural communities to develop. The NTA will ensure that public transport plays its part in building sustainable rural communities.

I trust we will be able to answer any queries that arise.