Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The process in respect of this matter should be transparent and open. The Minister of State should consider the proposals Ring a Link has submitted. On Sunday last, Ring a Link celebrated carrying 500,000 passengers since its inception. It caters for some 80,000 passengers each year - on a six-days-per-week basis - and 50% of these are individuals who avail of services in south Tipperary. As already stated, Ring a Link will cope with the 7% cut. However, why encourage further waste and create additional bureaucracy by establishing a new unit in Tipperary? I passionately believe that what is envisaged is wrong and that it will lead to a lack of services for the public. The proposed new unit will be unwieldy and will oblige us to cover old ground again. We already have a template in place. Representatives from the National Transport Authority were present at our celebration of 500,000 passengers, as was my dear friend the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan. The Minister, as ought to be the case, was very polite and nice to all concerned. The Minister of State has seen what Ring a Link is capable of delivering and he may rest assured that it can also deliver for north Tipperary. In fact, he will be delighted when we deliver the whole-county project. When Ring a Link celebrates carrying 1 million passengers in counties Tipperary, Carlow and Kilkenny, I am sure he will also be delighted.

I salute the board members and volunteers across the three counties for championing and delivering this service. When the service was launched a number of years ago, many letters were written to Ring a Link. One came from a passenger who lived in the back end of south Tipperary and who stated that being picked up at her front door and returned there after her trip was like someone opening up the gates of Mountjoy and releasing her. Ring a Link provides an excellent service. Why fix what is not broken? Ring a Link has provided a template for what should happen nationally.

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