Vol. 566 No. 4
218 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for Transport the measures he intends to take to ensure that a public transport system is available to senior citizens in rural Ireland who live remote from established public transport routes; and the action he intends to take to ensure that a service is put in place for senior citizens immediately. [13089/03]
219 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for Transport the measures he intends to take to ensure that a public transport system is available to people in rural Ireland who live remote from established public transport routes; and the action he intends to take to ensure that a service is put in place immediately. [13094/03]
222 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for Transport the measures he intends to take to ensure that a public transport system is available to people in rural Ireland who live remote from established public transport routes. [13088/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 218, 219 and 222 together.
The rural transport initiative, RTI, provides funding on a pilot basis for voluntary and community organisations and community partnerships to address the particular transport needs of their rural areas. The initiative is being managed by Area Development Management Limited on behalf of my Department.
Under the RTI, 34 rural community transport groups are now being funded to provide transport services in their areas and the initiative is operational in parts of most counties in the country.
Under the RTI, some 270 new transport services are currently being provided. Many of these are door-to-door services and are designed to fit in with existing scheduled services. Some 2,000 people, including many elderly people, are currently using the RTI transport services every week and these numbers are rising as new transport services are rolled out and existing services are developed to their full capacity.
It is anticipated that some €6 million will have been provided for this pilot initiative by the end of this year when the RTI is due to conclude. This compares with the €4.4 million earmarked for it in the national development plan.
As regards the future of rural transport services, I am currently considering a report from an interdepartmental committee which has made recommendations with regard to the development of a rural public transport policy.
