Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Robert Troy for bringing the motion to the House. Earlier the Minister said there was a difference between himself and Deputy Troy and that they did not share the same road to a solution. I agree with him. Deputy Troy is standing up for rural Ireland. He is standing up for the staff of Bus Éireann, the towns, the young and the old. He is standing up to create awareness that the Minister's Department is lacking when it comes to taking ownership. He is listening to the concerns of the people in rural Ireland. My colleagues, Councillors Kinane and Ivan Canning, are very concerned about the forthcoming opening of the Gort to Tuam motorway because Gort is going to be bypassed, as is Clarinbridge. They have real concerns about what that will do to their rural communities because that was the lifeline that was bringing people into communities. It was part of the connectivity we needed for tourism in the west.

Regrettably, we now face the deadline of 20 February and people who work on the Expressway service or who have families and businesses that depend on it do not know what the future holds for it. We ask the Minister to provide a clear and definite role of involvement and for leadership. We know he can do it. We ask him now to step up to the mark and support rural Ireland. Given my constituency experience, I believe firmly that all rural towns and villages need serious resuscitation and not to have their oxygen supply taken away. It is in the Minister's hands.

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