Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)

That is good news. It will be even better news if the talk turns into action. The Minister of State lives in rural Ireland and as he knows, a proper integrated rural transport system would be a huge boon to rural areas. It would help people with disabilities in particular to live more independently. When I was canvassing for the 2009 local elections I was struck by the frequency with which the issue of rural transport arose, particularly when I visited a house where there was an English person or someone from outside the country, although this was an issue that had not arisen much in the previous five years. It struck me then that as someone living in rural Ireland, I was not ambitious enough for the service we had. These people seemed to think the provision of rural transport services should be the norm.

It is clear there are significant resources. We have school buses that are idle when school is closed and when pupils are not being brought to and from school and we have services paid for by the HSE that are duplicated and unco-ordinated. For example, we might have two people travelling on a bus on a 20-mile journey and two other people on a similar bus going to the same place at the same time, all paid for by the HSE. I am pleased to hear a committee has been set up to consider an integrated approach, but we need action. That would bring about a good situation.

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