Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

Does the Minister agree that the funding provided for rural transport up to a year or two ago was absolutely derisory? The amount is still incredibly small given the number of projects that could be supported.

We have heard presentations at the Joint Committee on Transport, such as that of OK Community Transport, which covers Offaly and Kildare. The Minister is supporting groups in west Cork and the Meath Accessible Transport Project, in addition to groups in Kilnaleck, Sligo, Donegal, and Laois. Given that there is considerable interest in the programme, is the response from Government not derisory? The Minister referred to the evening rural transport scheme. Could he not establish it on a permanent basis?

Do the problems associated with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs not constitute the other side to the debate on trying to support rural communities? Would the Minister consider having a national system of targets to increase service provision such that an increasing number of rural householders would be within a tenminute walk of an hourly or even more frequent bus service, as in the United Kingdom? Will he ask CIE and Bus Éireann to devise, with local service providers, a national network including every town and townland in an effort to provide the national public service network to which we are all entitled, regardless of where we live, be it at the tip of the Beara peninsula or just outside this House? Is this area of his portfolio not important enough for him to take very significant action?

See this speech in context