Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Following the passage of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, which was signed into law some weeks ago, I am asking where are the extra LocalLink bus services that were promised during the passage of the Bill. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, succeeded in getting Fine Gael to support the Bill in return for his support for the Fine Gael-led Government. Sinn Féin was readily on hand to give its support. The Fianna Fáil leadership thought it was best to do the same as Sinn Féin. Finally, what happened was that 75 Deputies voted for the Bill, 75 abstained and eight of us voted against. Only myself and Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, of the five Deputies in Kerry, voted against the Minister's Bill.

Last summer, the Minister, Deputy Ross, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Griffin, and Deputy Heydon announced some small amount of LocalLink services aid for Kerry. That is not enough for all of Kerry. The people of the Black Valley and such places need more, as do the people from around Cahersiveen, Waterville, Glencar and Beaufort. These places are remote and far away from anywhere. We need more transport services there and likewise in east Kerry, including in Gneeveguilla, Scartaglin and Currow.

Will he provide more bus transport services in these areas? It is a different story in Dublin where many forms of transport are available. This is true of other greater urban areas throughout the country, but it is a different story in places such as County Kerry. The social fabric of rural Ireland has been blown to smithereens. People who need a car to get from A to B cannot even have one pint. Who is ordering all of the checkpoints? Is it the Taoiseach; the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan; or the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross? People are being checked in going to and coming from mass. I am not blaming An Garda Síochána or individual superintendents because it is occurring across divisions and county boundaries. Does the Minister, Deputy Ross, now also want to close churches, as well as post offices?

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