Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Question 3: To ask the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport in view of the tighter road traffic legislation introduced recently and the lack of public transport facilities in rural areas, if he will ensure that the rural transport budget is safeguarded in Budget 2012; his views that there is unequal access to transport facilities in rural areas as opposed to towns and cities; his further views that the lack of rural transport facilities leads to increased rural isolation; his plans to introduce initiatives such as rate supports or tax incentives for rural businesses in the tourism industry such as country pubs who are suffering as a result of the lack of rural transport facilities and who wish to provide a transport service for their customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33645/11]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The programme for Government acknowledges the importance of transport for rural communities and includes a commitment to maintain and extend the rural transport programme with other local transport services as much as is practical. Work in that regard is proceeding and I am very supportive of it. However, like all Government funded programmes, the rural transport programme, RTP, is being considered in the context of the ongoing central review of expenditure which is endeavouring to identify savings.

I assure the Deputy that I am very much aware that public transport is not just an urban issue, but one that is very real for rural areas. The issue of rural transport and preventing rural isolation is quite close to my heart, given that I, like the Deputy, come from a small village in Tipperary. Many people in rural areas have great difficulty accessing services, and schemes such as the RTP can and do transform life for those who benefit from it. I am very committed to this continuing as a way of trying to tackle rural isolation. I am examining this issue on two fronts, both as part of my role regarding rural transport but also in the context of the review of the taxi sector, where I am actively examining the role of taxis and hackneys in rural areas with a view to trying to tackle the rural isolation caused by a lack of transport in many areas, even in areas where the RTP is operating.

I am also aware of the importance of country pubs in the economy. A visit to an Irish pub is an acknowledged attraction for foreign visitors. A pub accreditation scheme is being rolled out by Fáilte Ireland throughout the country. Pubs are a central component of communities in rural areas. As regards tax incentives and local authority rates, these are the respective responsibilities of the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State and wish him well in his new office. While I welcome parts of his reply, I am disappointed with the last part. The Minister of State admitted that he comes from a rural area similar to mine. Somebody needs to tie the elements of this together. We have the new legislation in the Road Traffic Act, rural isolation and the lack of transport. This is despite the operation of the rural transport programme, RTP. It is not operating anywhere at night. Ring a Link has tried to do it. The Minister of State has met people from Ring a Link and I hope he will be able to meet the group from south Tipperary to examine what it is doing. Somebody needs to bring this issue together.

As regards rates and tax, we cannot simply say it is somebody else's responsibility. I acknowledge that it is but when the previous Minister was introducing legislation, he promised there would be tax incentives for publicans who wished to buy an eight-seater vehicle to help to keep their business alive. Remember, they are paying rates, tax, income tax, insurance, wages and so forth. This is vital if they wish to provide transport. Otherwise the tourists the Minister of State mentioned will not visit anywhere other than hotels. I hope the Minister of State will try to bring that together. Given his background, he should put together a working group to examine this. The budget is only a few weeks away so the Minister of State should see whether he can do something in that regard.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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As part of the review of rural transport and considering greater integration of rural transport across a range of areas, including education and health, we will consult the Departments. In that context I will bring the issues the Deputy mentioned to their attention, as well as many other issues. A wide range of issues are involved. I will meet the group referred to by the Deputy. I have taken on board the issues the Deputy mentioned relating to the provision of services, particularly late at night and at weekends, when there is a greater demand for them. We will be examining those issues and having discussions with various groups, including the vintners, in the near future. As a consequence, through the policies for integrated rural transport and the review of the taxi and hackney services throughout the country, I hope to contribute positively to the supply of services across rural areas with a continuation of many of the services in the RTP and also possibly through the provision of additional services in the taxi and hackney sectors, which will be changing in the coming years.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State's comments and I look forward to having an input into the consultations on the taxi service for rural areas. It is non-existent, as the Minister of State knows. Anybody who has a family in a rural area that might be ten miles from a town cannot get a taxi out until everybody in the town is dealt with and that leads to all types of problems. I hope the Minister of State will fight to ring-fence the rural transport funding. It is less than the amount Derry International Airport gets from the Department and it is a life saver for many of the rural projects that have been established.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Deputy McGrath and I do not agree on many things but in this scenario we agree a great deal on the issues. I will take his comments on board. It will be a combined approach between the changeover in the integrated rural transport side and a renewed policy relating to taxis and hackneys. Between both we should have a better policy for rural areas.