Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I accept that, but if the operational decisions were decided in Dublin by Bus Éireann, or in Mitchelstown, good decisions would not be made either. Doing so would introduce rigidities to the system that would not be good. I know the Deputy is suggesting that the overall network might be good but this might defeat the purpose of what we are talking about.

I would like to see further liaison between local groups and the HSE at local level. This could be very helpful to the rural transport programme. The HSE has a considerable budget for transporting people to hospitals, etc., and there have been very successful pilot schemes in respect of the rural transport programme in conjunction with specific hospitals. This is one area in which I would like to encourage development.

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