Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan was meant to connect rural communities. However, there is no regional or Local Link service connecting the communities living between the towns of Athlone and Ballinsloe, a stretch of 20 km. In 2021, the Bus Éireann Galway to Dublin regional route, the 20 and X20 routes, which connected towns and villages in the west, were removed because there were private providers on the route: Citylink and Aircoach. However, since April of this year, Aircoach has withdrawn from the route.

I have raised this on a number of occasions. I worked on video campaigns for the Connecting Ireland programme to promote submissions about this connected route and most recently as a Commencement matter last May.

The loss of the 20 and X20 routes a number of years ago had a major impact. How do people get to medical appointments in Portiuncula University Hospital or primary care? How do students get to college in Athlone? How do they even make their way to train stations? This is a 20 km section of road that is not served. One of the goals of Connecting Ireland was connecting medical and educational establishments.

Moore is a vibrant community. It is very successful and it won more than €100,000 recently to renovate its community centre. It has training and exercise programmes, Fit Farmers, the Movement Mentor and they were on Virgin TV last week. They run concerts and plays and they are the heart and soul of a rural agricultural area.

Moore Community Council, which represents the people in this area, worked on a survey for south Roscommon to gather feedback from these local communities. More than 1,000 responses were received and I would like to share some of this feedback with the Minister of State.

One of the key messages was that without local public transport, it can be very isolating and that their voice should be instrumental in shaping the future of the transportation services to ensure that the needs of communities are met and that no one gets left behind. This is about connecting to essential services, education institutions, and businesses in both Athlone and Ballinasloe, which is crucial. This community wants to be able to boost the local economies by increasing access for people to get into our local shops and, of course, for tourism. It is also about having an affordable travel option for people who do not drive, including older people, young people and those who do not have a car, or where there is just one car per household, and about social inclusion and access to community services.

In this survey, 50% of those surveyed would use this service for further connections. Some 500 people alone would use the service to get to the train station. We discuss loneliness, anxiety and isolation. We know that people are living healthy and active lives and that is what we want to see. We had a gentleman living to 107 years of age in County Roscommon. According to this survey, 900 people alone would use this service for social activities. These are such activities as recreation, shopping, going to the cinema, meeting friends and having a coffee. According to the census office, the number of people aged 65 and over is estimated to have risen by in excess 40% in Ireland between 2013 and 2023, from 569,000 to 806,000 and it is expected to double again to 1.6 million people in Ireland in 2051. The census found that twice as many women aged 75 and over were likely to use the bus at least weekly at 13% compared with only 7% of men.

I am calling to the Minister of State for a review of this regional route? I want us to consider the reinstatement of the Bus Éireann 20 or X20 route as a way to connect rural communities between Galway and Dublin. It existed for decades, it was taken away and now these communities are left with nothing and no access to coaches. It is fair enough that the M4 and M6 motorways can be used but this region in south Roscommon does not have a link for older communities and we are being left behind.