Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Robert Troy for being so proactive on this issue. Everybody seems to be talking about this matter but very little action has been taken in respect of it. The programme for Government contains a commitment to keep older people independent and active in their community. It states, "We also recognise the value and benefit of rural transport to many communities, in particular for older people vulnerable to social isolation". Older people living in rural areas do not have the same luxury of those living in larger towns and cities. Here in Dublin we are spoilt for choice between taxis, buses, trains and Luas services. The list goes on but, unfortunately, the same is not available to people who live in other parts of the country. Expressway is a lifeline for both urban and rural passengers, including students taking the service from Waterford on a Sunday evening.

My own daughter does it. She travels every Sunday evening to college in Limerick. Whether it is the students travelling into Waterford from Cork, Carlow or Kilkenny, it is imperative that the bus service is there for them. At the weekend, I spoke to many people in rural parts of my constituency whose only lifeline in many cases is Bus Éireann and the Expressway coach service. These people depend on free travel and the connectivity with which buses provide them.

My late father, who has been dead for 21 years, had a saying, "If you are going on the bus, be on it," because he always trained us to be good timekeepers. My worry now is that there will be no bus to get on.

See this speech in context