Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of rural transport. There is a commitment on page 50 of the programme for Government that a report on rural transport will be made available within six months. The issues to be examined are, for example, the sustainability and accessibility of existing routes, in addition to the potential of new routes. This is a huge issue in rural communities, as the Taoiseach knows. I was very disappointed to learn the report will not be available until 2018 because the work simply has not been carried out. What that is saying to rural communities is: "Put up and shut up". We will not put up and we certainly will not shut up either. We want action on this. We want basic services and transport in our communities. This issue has been raised a number of times and I certainly will be raising it again until it is resolved.

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