Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am taking this topic on behalf of the Minister for Community and Rural Development, Deputy Humphreys.

The sustainability of the communities on our offshore islands is a core objective of the Government, as set out in its rural development policy. The policy acknowledges the importance for island communities of access to reliable, safe and affordable connectivity services to and from the mainland. Contracts for these services are procured by the Department of Rural and Community Development on the open market through the procurement process. This ensures that all providers are treated equally and that the selection process is fair and transparent to all.

The fare reduction scheme recently announced by the Department of Transport will see an average reduction of 20% on transport services managed by the National Transport Authority, NTA, on its behalf. The scheme covers all bus and train services on all NTA networks. It is important to note, however, that all other subsidised transport services managed by the Department of Transport, such as the public service obligation, PSO, air services to Donegal and Kerry, are not covered by the scheme. I understand the Deputy has received a communication in this regard. Similarly, the subsidised transport services to the offshore islands, which services are managed by my Department, do not qualify for the scheme. Unlike the services managed by the NTA, offshore islands have a mix of subsidised and non-subsidised transport services. The introduction of a fare reduction scheme for subsidised services would put private operators at a disadvantage. They would be entitled to seek legal redress if a subsidised service were to get a competitive advantage, such as subsidised fares, on a designated route.

Furthermore, many subsidised operators provide extra sailings beyond what is subsidised, and those extra sailings would not be entitled to the reduction. A fare reduction scheme that applied to subsidised sailings only would create fare inconsistencies for both service operators and users. All the contracted air, ferry and cargo services managed by the Department are procured according to an open and fair procedure. Providing a fare reduction scheme for chosen suppliers would undermine those procedures and be inherently unfair. As any fare reduction scheme for the subsidised service to the islands would have to be implemented in a manner that would be fair to all providers, the Department has no plans to proceed with a scheme at this time. However, I note what the Deputy has said and will put his comments to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I acknowledge what the Deputy has said about equality for islanders and will also relay that sentiment to the Minister.

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