Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know I am stepping into another Minister's area but I do not mind doing so. The reason for greater demand on services is that more people are living in rural Ireland. It is not me saying that. The Deputy cited the CSO figures, which also tell us that more people are living and working in rural Ireland. People are moving back to rural Ireland. Of course, we will have to improve services, including the ambulance services.

There are demands for hospitals, nursing homes and school places. That is what my colleagues and I will be addressing in our next plan. I will sit down with my officials and we will look to see what is actually happening and what services are needed in rural Ireland. Resources are going to have to be put in place to ensure that we provide the services people need.

As the Deputy indicated, people in rural Ireland are entitled to have these services at a reasonable distance from their homes. As I stated earlier, we cannot have hospitals and secondary schools in every village but these services should be in reasonable locations in areas to which people can travel. That is why we are looking at Local Link services. There are many other services that we are trying to provide. We are trying to bring people who live in rural areas to hospital appointments and assist them in every way we can.

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