Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)

This was debated last week and Senator Andrews still comes in this afternoon and hurls a lot of stuff at the greyhound industry. I want that to be put to bed.

Today we are on about rural activity and I wish to speak about investment in rural transport, in particular Local Link and demand-responsive transport services in Kerry. These services are lifelines for people across rural Ireland, including rural Kerry, where I come from, including the older person needing to reach his or her GP, the student getting to college and the worker who depends on a reliable bus to get to his or her job. They connect people to opportunity, community and essential services but in too many cases there simply is not enough coverage. Some communities see one bus per day; others see none at all. Families in these areas are forced to run a second car, not out of choice but out of necessity. Effectively, they are punished for living in a rural area. This is not fair or sustainable.

I will mention one area in north Kerry. Abbeydorney has an active retirement group, which meets every week. Unfortunately, the Local Link service cannot run the service every week; it runs it twice per month. That is letting down a community that would attend this hub every week but the funding seems not to be there. I call on the Minister to come to the Seanad and debate this and to secure funding that ensures everyone in rural Ireland can get on this transport system.