Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 261: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of rural transport initiatives that are involved in transporting persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3064/05]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 262: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of rural transport projects that operate within any town or service any town; the towns that are serviced; if his Department has refused applications for rural transport initiatives to service any town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3065/05]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 263: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of rural transport initiatives which operate around the country; the locations from which they operate; the number of persons employed in each; and the position they hold, either full time or part time.. [3067/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 261 to 263, inclusive, together.

The rural transport initiative is a pilot project, funded by my Department since 2002. Under the initiative, 34 rural community groups are being financed to operate rural transport services in their areas.

Area Development Management Limited administers the rural transport initiative on behalf of my Department. Area Development Management Limited and the individual groups are solely responsible for all the operational aspects of the rural transport initiative. Neither I nor my Department has any role in these matters. The provision of transport services for people with disabilities is a core feature of the rural transport initiative and all projects provide these services. Accordingly, many rural transport initiative services are provided on a door-to-door basis and some projects are in a position to provide services with fully accessible vehicles.

The rural transport initiative arose as a response to the needs of people in rural areas who, because they did not have independent access to transport, had difficulties in travelling to towns and villages. This is the primary purpose of the rural transport initiative and all the rural transport initiative projects provide services from rural areas to towns and villages. However, I am not aware that any project provides services within towns. I am not in a position to name the towns served by the rural transport initiative as decisions on what services are to be provided are operational matters for Area Development Management Limited and the individual project groups.

My Department has a role if a group requires a route licence under the Road Transport Act 1932 for a bus service. The Department has not refused any route licence application by a rural transport initiative group to service any town. With regard to the numbers employed by rural transport initiative projects, this again is an operational matter although I can say that the recent appraisal of the rural transport initiative found that there were 90 people directly employed by rural transport initiative projects and the employment of a further 200 bus drivers was supported by the initiative.