Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I was prompted to raise this issue in response to calls to my office and to Deputy Brian O'Shea's office with regard to the probable cessation of the rural bus service between Waterford and Cork. This is a service which specifically serves the towns of Dungarvan, Cappoquin, Lismore, Curraglass, Ballynoe, Conna, Castlelyons, Fermoy, Castletownroche, Killavullen and Mallow. There is a concern that if the mid-day service which is provided by Bus Éireann is stopped, because in the company's words it is deemed to be "not profitable", this will have an untold consequence for those people who are older, who do not have their own transport and who would normally use this service to access general day to day services such as medical, post office and other services that generally keep life and limb together.

I am concerned because if it is the case that Bus Éireann decides to terminate this service, then in the current economic climate, there is no guarantee that the rural transport programme would be sufficiently funded to replace the route and provide the service to what I would call a vulnerable section or our society who do not have the means to provide their own transport and are not in a position to be able to get taxis if they are living in rural areas to the towns I have mentioned.

We saw in 1967 that the railway line between Mallow and Dungarvan or Cork and Waterford through Mallow was stopped and it was replaced by a bus service. I am arguing now, along with my colleague, Deputy O'Shea, that there would be a public service obligation to ensure that those people would continue to be served by some form of public transport and ideally through the auspices of Bus Éireann. It is my view that if we are to go down the line in this country of stopping routes which are deemed to be not profitable, then it will be another nail in the coffin for rural society. At a time when we are talking about the sustainability of the rural economy and rural society, it is vitally important that we would ensure that Bus Éireann and other providers would continue to have some obligation to provide services, particularly during the week when it is predominantly elderly people who avail of these services. It is not only so that they can go into town to purchase groceries but it is also a form of social interaction for them they may not otherwise have without the service.

If Government policy is one that assures that rural transport would be well catered for, particularly in more isolated areas, and if it is the case that Government policy is such that there is a service in existence, I call on the Minister to ensure that the service is maintained, preferably by Bus Éireann, but if not, that the Minister would intervene directly with Bus Éireann to ensure that it is maintained. That will ensure that if we get rid of the railways we do not also get rid of the rural bus routes. People use this service and it is vital that they have access to the services that maintain them in their everyday lives.

I call on the Minister to intervene directly with Bus Éireann on this issue and ensure we maintain that service and other such services that are being threatened. Bus Éireann is undergoing a process of reviewing its routes and those deemed to be not profitable could cease in the future. That would be a bad day for rural society and the rural economy in particular.

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the matter, although he strayed somewhat from the subject of the Adjournment matter on the rural transport programme.

There is a commitment in the programme for Government to the rural transport that underpins the rural transport programme launched in February 2007. The principal function of the rural transport programme is to address social exclusion in rural areas arising from public transport needs. It was not established to provide regular inter-urban transport services. That is the function of Bus Éireann and other commercial transport operators. It is a clear principle of the programme that services are to complement and not compete with the existing public transport services provided either by CIE companies or by the private transport operators. Older people and people with disabilities form the core customer base of the rural transport programme, with many of those people living in remote and isolated rural areas.

The programme mainstreamed the former pilot rural transport initiative, and provides significantly increased funding which has led to additional services and expanded area coverage. The bottom-up approach developed during the pilot rural transport initiative demonstrated the effectiveness of community and voluntary innovation and participation in the provision of rural transport services. The programme is building on that concept and the main drivers of community rural transport continue to be the local communities.

As Deputies will be aware, Pobal administers the programme on behalf of my Department and is working with 37 individual rural transport groups around the country to address social exclusion in their rural areas arising from public transport needs. The programme is now operational in every county and the rural transport groups are working towards maximising coverage in their operational areas on a phased basis in response to local public transport service needs and having regard to the availability of resources. The programme has been highly successful. In 2008, 146,000 services were operated and 1.2 million passenger journeys were recorded. The equivalent figures for 2007 were 120,000 services and 998,000 passenger journeys.

The arrangements for the provision of services funded under the programme are a matter for individual rural community transport groups because we believe that local communities know best where the transport needs are in their rural areas and how best to address those needs. The Government's role is one of facilitator, helping local communities to address their transport needs through financial and administrative support.

Funding of €11 million is being provided from the Department of Transport Vote for the rural transport programme in 2009, an increase of €1 million on the provision for 2008. It is envisaged that this funding will lead to small increases this year in the frequency of existing services. In making specific allocations to the individual rural transport groups from this funding, Pobal has been asked by my Department to work closely with the groups to maximise the impact of the funding as well as ensuring continued value for money. Some groups are working at a local level with the Health Service Executive, FÁS, the vocational education committees and a number of disability organisations with a view to achieving transport synergies and getting better value for money.

In addition to funding from my Department, rural transport groups also benefit each year from funding provided by the Department of Social and Family Affairs arising from the application of the free travel scheme. Some groups also benefit from local development funding from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, while most groups also generate additional funds from their own resources. The scheme will continue.

Regarding the Bus Éireann services, Bus Éireann is currently in negotiations in the Labour Relations Commission. I do not want to go into detail on that but it is not the policy of Bus Éireann to cease services that are not profitable. Quite a few of its services are not profitable and it gets a public service obligation, PSO, for that but to discontinue services that are poorly used or under utilised, in the context of trying to secure a cut in its losses of €30 million, it must look at every individual service it provides and I have no doubt this will give an opportunity to rural transport groups to fill in gaps in the years ahead.