Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

The budget sends out a positive message about the agri-food sector. It is an indication that the Government has confidence in the ability of the sector to do much more in terms of generating growth and employment. All the indications are that the sector will continue to outperform other sectors of the economy and continue on an upward trajectory, creating new jobs and building further on the outstanding export performance in 2011.

Moving to other areas of concern to rural dwellers, the Government is very much aware that public transport is not just an urban issue but one that is very real for rural areas. Many people in rural areas have great difficulty accessing basic services due to lack of access to transport. Schemes such as the rural transport programme can and do transform life for those who benefit. A good public transport system is a necessary precondition for the development of a fully inclusive society in all its social and economic dimensions. Rural transport is a necessary component of such a system and can determine people's level of access to work, education, medical and social services. The programme for Government acknowledges the importance of transport for rural communities and includes a commitment "to maintain and extend the rural transport programme with other local transport services as much as is practical".

The consolidation that this Government has been required to take has, by necessity, in some cases resulted in reduced services to the public. However, the Government has ensured that the principles of fairness, growth and reform underpin all decisions that must be taken if Ireland is to regain its economic sovereignty. I completely refute the allegation from the Deputies opposite that there has been an anti-rural bias to any announcement by the Government. Rather, as I have demonstrated, the Government has ensured that the rural community, and the rural way of life, has been protected in so far as is possible in these trying times. I recommend the Government's amendment to the House.

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