Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)
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Question 358: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide funding to extend the ring-a-link rural link transport service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8128/11]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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€10.62m is being provided for the Rural Transport Programme (RTP) in 2011 in recognition of the important role it plays in combatting social exclusion in rural Ireland. Thirty-six rural community transport groups around the country, including Ring-a-Link which operates in Carlow, Kilkenny and Tipperary South Riding, are being funded under the Programme. Pobal administers the RTP on behalf of my Department and is responsible, among other things, for allocating funds to individual rural community transport groups from funding provided by my Department. Neither I nor my Department have any role in relation to the day-to-day management issues pertaining to the Programme or in allocating funds to particular groups. However, I understand from Pobal that some €450,000 has been allocated to Ring-a-Link this year.