Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)

As the Deputy will be aware from the situation in his county, there are regular rural services and demand-responsive services. These allow passengers to travel from their local villages and towns for business, shopping, healthcare or to connect with the national bus and train network. We are committed in the context of the provision of rural transport to engaging further with stakeholders. As per the Indecon report, we will examine the effectiveness of the existing operations and look at the organisational structure and the governance of our rural transport programme. We will base our recommendations on the outcomes from that and carry out an extensive network of engagement. I have been in Longford, I have been in Waterford and I have been in parts of Cork. I have met with the companies. I have spoken to the former Ministers, Ms Coughlan and Mr. Dukes, in Donegal and Kildare. We will work to ensure that the feedback we receive and review will be the modus operandi we will use in the future in terms of policy. I will be happy to talk to the Deputy and meet with any group in Kerry he wants me to meet.

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