Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)

I thank the Chair for giving me the opportunity to address the House on the future of the rural transport programme. It does not seem that long since I was a Member of this House. Many Senators are passionate about this issue, as I am.

Coming from the village of Portroe, on the border of Tipperary and Clare, I know public transport is an issue. This is not just an urban issue but one that is very real for rural areas. Many people in rural areas have great difficulty accessing basic services owing to lack of access to transport. An EU survey of income and living conditions published by the Central Statistics Office in 2009 reported that 52% of households in rural Ireland had difficulties in accessing public transport compared with 11% in urban areas. Schemes such as the rural transport programme can and do transform life for those who benefit. A good public transport system is a necessary precondition for the development of a fully inclusive society in all its social and economic dimensions. Rural transport is a necessary component of such a system and can determine people's level of access to work, education and medical and social services together with access to family and friends. Essentially, it can be viewed as the cement that binds a rural community together and deals with such issues as isolation and access to social services.

The rural transport programme, of which many Senators are aware, was launched in February 2007 and it mainstreamed the former pilot rural transport initiative 2002-2006. It is being administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department. The primary objective of the RTP is to help address social exclusion in rural areas arising from unmet public transport needs and is operational in every county. Thirty six rural community transport groups throughout the country are being funded under the RTP and are maximising coverage in their operational areas, having regard to local transport service needs and the availability of resources.

Services are open to the public but older people and people with disabilities have formed the core customer base of the programme so far, with many of those living in remote and isolated rural areas. The rural transport programme was established to operate only in cases of market failure, that is, where other operators do not provide services on their own initiative. Services funded under the programme should complement and not compete with the existing public transport services provided either by CIE companies or by private transport operators. This is a core principle of the programme.

As the RTP is grounded in the principle of community self-help, the main drivers of community rural transport continue to be the local communities themselves. The bottom-up approach developed for the pilot rural transport initiative demonstrated the effectiveness of community and voluntary participation in the provision of rural transport services. The RTP continues to rely heavily on the work of local communities for its success and the level of voluntary effort and commitment involved has been acknowledged time and again, rightly so. Who knows better than local people the transport needs of their area and how best to address those needs? Government's role continues to be one of facilitator through financial and administrative support but communities themselves have the lead role.

The transport modes utilised by the individual RTP groups vary in accordance with the needs they are trying to address and can include buses, minibuses, taxis and private cars. While a small number of RTP groups provide some of their services with their own vehicles, most services are provided by private transport operators on a contract basis for individual RTP groups. These contracts are awarded following competitive tendering processes.

Funding for the pilot rural transport initiative and its successor, the rural transport programme, has increased significantly during the years, rising from €3 million in 2003 to €11 million in 2010. This funding has led to continuing increases in the level of services provided, rising from 40,000 services in 2003 to in excess of 171,000 services in 2010. The number of passenger journeys recorded on those services has also increased from 151,000 in 2003 to more than 1.4 million in 2010.

While it must be recognised that the increased levels of funding provided during the years has led to continuing increases in the level of services provided and the number of passenger journeys recorded, it must also be recognised that we now find ourselves in changed economic times. The financial resources available to Government are far more limited now. Nevertheless, €10.62 million has been allocated for the RTP in 2011 in a situation where other projects have had to be curtailed or postponed. This funding is being provided in recognition of the important role the RTP plays in combating rural isolation, particularly for the elderly, and should help to sustain on-the-ground services this year. The RTP also benefits from funding under the free travel scheme of the Department of Social Protection while some groups also benefit from local development funding from the former Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. I am aware that additional funds are generated by a number of groups from their own resources.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of achieving greater efficiencies in the administration costs associated with implementing the RTP, both the community group costs as well as Pobal's own costs, in order that as much as possible of the programme funding is concentrated on the provision of transport services. The achievement of greater efficiencies is vital in the face of the challenging fiscal climate facing the country.

There is also a wider context to consider when assessing rural transport. For instance, many people in rural areas are not able to access public transport services when school transport or other State funded transport services may be operational in their areas. This highlights a need to change the way we think about rural transport and to explore new ideas. In essence we need to think about rural transport in a broader integrated transport context. I am very dedicated to this.

Bus Éireann is a key provider of public transport throughout the regions, including the provision of a network of local and rural bus services. Benefiting from increased Exchequer moneys in the period 2001 to 2008, the number of local and regional services increased substantially. As a result of the downturn in the economy since and a resultant drop in passenger numbers, however, Bus Éireann has had to implement some service curtailments on poorly supported routes, as well as the reorganisation and restructuring of some bus services. Nevertheless, the company is looking at innovative ways of maintaining services to the greatest extent possible in a value for money way through network planning and better utilisation of resources. It is working with other stakeholders, including the RTP, in that regard.

It is also important to acknowledge that a number of private transport operators are also providing public transport services in rural areas. Many of these provide commercial services in their own right, a number provide contracted services to Bus Éireann and, as RTP contractors, many of them also make an important contribution to the success of the rural transport programme.

A number of policy documents highlight rural transport and the role it plays in our communities. The importance of linking local and rural transport is a recurring theme in these policy documents.

The programme for Government notes the importance of transport as being "vital for rural communities as a reliable and sustainable transport service". It includes a commitment to "maintain and extend the rural transport programme with other local transport services as much as is practicable". As the Minister of State responsible for this, I am dedicated to it.

Action 14 of the smarter travel policy commits to the following: offering a regular seven day week transport service for rural communities and those in smaller urban areas; examining the potential for the expanded use of school and other publicly funded buses as a local transport bus to bring people to a range of services with, in the case of school buses, the primary emphasis continuing to be on transporting children to and from school at the necessary times and; building on the good work at local level in developing the rural transport programme to expand the network in other ways, such as the provision of demand responsive services.

Public transport accessibility is being progressed in the context of Transport Access for All, the Department's sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005. Among other things, the plan sets out a series of policy objectives and targets for accessible public transport across all modes and it contains a significant section on the rural transport programme. An extensive review of the sectoral plan is under way with a public consultation phase due to close on 23 September next.

A number of other recently produced reports are also relevant. Among these are the rural transport network report, entitled Towards Integrated Rural Transport, the Citizens Information Board report, entitled Getting There - Transport and Access to Social Services, the Irish Rural Link-Comhar report, entitled Towards A Sustainable Rural Transport Policy, and the 2010 report on rural transport provision by the former Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

A number of local integrated transport initiatives were undertaken between May and December 2009 in the north east and north west to explore the potential for improved synergies between existing transport providers. These initiatives involved Bus Éireann, the Health Service Executive in its capacity for providing transport to access health services, the then Department of Education and Science in respect of school transport services, Pobal in respect of rural transport programme services and the Irish Wheelchair Association. The projects were developed with a view to exploring how existing transport providers might make more effective use of their individual resources by working in closer co-operation with each other. The types of pilots included collect and connect type services, hospital feeder services, co-ordination of disability services, ticketing integration, co-ordinated information provision and journey planning, and increased synchronisation of partner systems and processes. These studies occur in a context where there is much similar work internationally, with the RTP groups able to draw on lessons learned in developing solutions that work in an Irish context.

Arising from the local integrated transport services, LITS, process it is clear that the future direction of rural transport needs to be part of wider integrated local transport services in the country. It is also clear that the delivery of a co-ordinated and integrated transport service should be further explored and developed. Work is proceeding in that regard and is a top priority of mine.

Some RTP groups are working at a local level with Bus Éireann, the HSE, FÁS, the VECs and a number of disability and voluntary organisations to improve transport synergies and the achievement of value for money. However, there is an onus on the new Government, as set out in the programme for Government, to explore all transport integration options in rural areas, including any possibilities presented by the school transport system, the HSE transport requirements, as well as rural transport services provided by Bus Éireann and private transport operators. The overall aim would be to reduce duplication and costs, while increasing efficiency and service provision. All stakeholders will have a role to play in this regard.

Like all other Government funded programmes, the rural transport programme will be considered in the context of the ongoing central review of expenditure which is endeavouring to identify savings. The programme has recently been the subject of a value for money and policy review undertaken in line with a commitment given at the launch of the programme in 2007. The review covered the period from 2002 to 2009, inclusive, and the essential elements of its terms of reference were to identify programme objectives; examine the continuing validity of these objectives and their compatibility with Government policy; define the programme outputs and identify the level, unit cost and trend of these outputs; examine the extent and effectiveness of the programme's objectives; quantify the level and trend of costs, staffing resources and income supporting the programme; evaluate the degree to which the objectives warrant the allocation of public funding on a continuing basis; and specify potential future performance indicators.

I have received a copy of the review report which, among other things, highlights the need to reduce certain costs, in particular administration costs, and emphasises the need to achieve efficiencies. Following consideration by the Government, we will publish the report and our response to the recommendations made therein, together with plans for the future of rural transport. Above all, we need to change the way we think around rural transport. There are several questions that need to be answered before this process is over and on which I would certainly take a cue from Members.

School buses often lie idle until 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. in many rural areas. Can we use them for other purposes, or interlink school transport and general transport services in order that the school bus would become part of a general public transport policy? How should the National Transport Authority be involved? While this will be a local and "bottom up" service, there is a lack of transport specific expertise in the rural transport programme. Can we use HSE transport more generally? As the organisation is primarily concerned with meeting medical needs, providing efficient transport is a secondary priority. In many cases, transport in a local area is arranged by a nurse or carer who is not someone trained to think about efficient transport. Should we be looking at developing transport hubs in our main towns? In many cases, buses of all kinds are travellling into the town centre and blocking traffic, when there may be plenty of publicly owned land adjacent to town centres or near rail lines that would also serve to meet this purpose. This might also create a greater discourse on the provision of more rural transport and public transport services in general.

Another question involves the local authorities and the role they may have in this. Rather than create new administrative structures, we can have a better transport system in rural areas that involves some liaison with local authorities, as they will best understand the transport and planning needs of rural communities and have the ability to link up with other State agencies and local authorities. The chief aim will be to take on board the lessons of the value for money review and incorporate them into a new plan that will build on and foster the current excellent community effort.