Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Transport is responsible for rural transport policy and programmes and the National Transport Authority has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling of these services. Notwithstanding this, I acknowledge the vital importance of transport services for rural communities. Accordingly, the Department has ensured the inclusion of relevant actions in Our Rural Future, the whole-of-government policy for rural development, and Our Living Islands, the ten-year policy for our off-shore islands.

In its 2023 end of year report to my Department, the Department of Transport has confirmed that since mid-2022, over 190 towns and villages have been connected to the public transport network, and over 280,000 people have access to new and enhanced bus services under the connecting Ireland rural mobility plan. Public transport fares have been reduced by an average of 20% across all Transport for Ireland services. This took place in 2022 and the most recent budget ensured these reductions could be continued in 2024. The number of journeys taken continues to grow in line with the expansion of services and in the context of these fare reductions.

My Department will continue to monitor delivery of all actions assigned under Our Rural Future. In June 2023, my Department published Ireland's ten-year island policy, Our Living Islands. The policy recognises that reliable, affordable, year-round transport services are essential for the sustainability of our island communities. My Department currently subsidises a suite of transport services for 19 separate offshore islands. For example, in 2022, the most recent full year figures available to my Department, more than 498,317 people used the subsidised ferry services to our offshore islands. Over the last six years, despite the rising costs faced by the transport sector, my Department has ensured that there were no fare increases for the majority of island services. My Department will continue to support these transport services which provide a vital link for communities on our offshore islands.

See this speech in context