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

I thank the Independent Group for bringing forward this motion. It has been proven in the past that providing free public transport works. In the case of the elderly, it is good to get people out of their homes and to take them on a journey. It is good for the economy. It is good for the people themselves and their health to be out among people. It is good for finances because they spend money. In this context, let us look at the diversity and size of County Kerry. People are dispersed across areas the size of Brosna, Knocknagashel and Lyracrumpane. In south Kerry, we have places like Valentia Island and Portmagee. I am trying to get additional services provided there. We already needed more services. Now we have Ukrainian people, who are very welcome, but they need transport. We did not have the transport originally for the local people. Now, we have more people living in those locations and we need additional services. I ask the Minister of State to take on board, in particular, these types of situations. West of Dingle, in mid-Kerry and, indeed, all over the county, we have an inadequacy of bus transport. Providing more transport and making it free would give us the advantage that people living in urban areas have now.

I also wish to highlight and thank the people involved in providing Local Link services and buses. I refer to the private operators and the people working in keeping the wheels rolling. It is not easy to be in business today. Therefore, I thank the private operators for their work in providing buses. The rail connectivity we have in County Kerry is extremely important in ensuring we have as much accessibility and as many times as possible to allow people to work. I thank the people who operate the airport at Farranfore. I thank them for the service and for ensuring we have as much connectivity as possible. I refer to flights arriving early and late to ensure people can work and do everything from our county and have the advantage of living in a rural location as well.

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