Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy will be aware, in many rural areas there are no public transport services at night. While there are either hackney or taxi services in more developed rural areas, these are at the discretion of the providers of these services and do not provide a guaranteed service to rural people.

It was against this background that in May 2007 I introduced a new evening transport service, on a pilot basis, to allow rural people to fully participate in the various activities — community, sporting and social — that take place in their areas. Thirty-four groups currently deliver the rural transport programme, which is operated by the Department of Transport, seven of which are delivering the pilot evening transport service.

I am informed that the scheme is widely used in the areas in which it is in operation. Funding of €500,000 was pledged for the one-year pilot and, to date, €375,000 has been spent. I have decided to continue funding the pilot until the end of 2008, by which time it will be reviewed. Decisions on its future will be informed by the outcome of that evaluation.

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