Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 25 together.

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

Against this background in May 2007 I introduced a new evening transport service, on a pilot basis, to allow rural people to fully participate in the community, sporting and social activities that take place in their areas. Thirty-four groups deliver the rural transport programme, which is operated by the Department of Transport, and seven of these are delivering the pilot evening transport service. The pilot scheme is widely used in the areas in which it is in operation. Funding of €665,000 was provided to run the pilot scheme to the end of 2008.

A review of the pilot scheme is under way and it is anticipated that it will be completed in the coming weeks. Decisions regarding the future of the scheme will be made following the completion of the review process. In the interim, additional funding of €150,000 has been pledged to run the scheme for the first quarter of 2009. This funding has been allocated to the seven participating groups as follows:

I think Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta, MFG is in Tír Chonaill.

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