Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I certainly will resist the urge, too. I thank Deputy Dillon for taking the opportunity to highlight, alongside the need for improved public transport links for rural Ireland and County Mayo, the strong concerns and views in his own community and constituency in respect of the N17 from Knock to Collooney and the importance of that project to the west and particularly to counties Mayo and Sligo. I will certainly feed those comments back to my Cabinet colleague, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and indeed to my other Cabinet colleagues as well. We will keep in touch with Deputy Dillon. I know the importance of that project to him and his advocacy for him.

On the issue of public transport, it is a welcome development that the Government, through the Department of Transport's sustainable mobility policy, recognises that transport needs are not uniform across the country. We have to be truthful about this. The needs of those living in my town, just south of County Dublin in north Wicklow, are very different from the needs of Deputy Dillon's constituents in Mayo. We have to make sure we have plans and funding streams that are flexible and responding to those different needs. The roll-out of Connecting Ireland and the expansion of the Local Link services are two fundamental parts of that solution, in recognition of the need for diversity when it comes to solutions in public transport. The fact that we are now significantly increasing funding to Connecting Ireland and Local Link, and we are seeing new and expanded routes and increased intensity of service provision, means there is a real opportunity for the NTA to reflect in all seriousness on the points the Deputy has made today about his community. In the months and years ahead, we will look to continue to make further progress.

I assure the Deputy that the Government will continue to provide additional investment in public transport. It is important that rural Ireland sees the benefit of that, and I believe it will.

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