I thank Senator Kitt for raising the issue of the rural transport initiative, which has become so popular in the 34 pilot scheme areas located throughout all but one of the Twenty-six Counties. The Department is funding the provision of public transport in rural areas through the initiative. It has been operating since 2002 to provide funding on a pilot basis for community transport groups to address the particular transport needs of rural area through the provision of local transport services.
The RTI is operational in virtually all counties and 34 community transport groups are currently being funded under the initiative. Some 75,000 RTI transport services were provided in 2005 and more than 650,000 passenger trips were recorded on these services. These projects provide public transport services for people in rural areas who otherwise would have no access to transport for shopping and accessing basic essential services. The RTI has changed the lives of so many people in rural Ireland. It has been very satisfying for me as Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport to visit many of the areas in various parts of the country from Cork to Donegal and see at first hand the importance of providing such a service in areas where no alternative service is available.
Pobal and the individual RTI groups are solely responsible for all the operational aspects of the RTI, including the specific services to be provided and their method of provision. Neither I nor the Department have any role in these matters. This has the great advantage that local communities decide the best service that should be made available to those in rural areas. They know best where the needs are and how they should be addressed. The Department is a mere facilitator.
We are in the final year of the National Development Plan 2000-2006, which has underpinned tremendous investment in an array of transport infrastructure measures. The media spotlight has often been on large-scale infrastructure projects, such as construction of new national roads or investment in rail and bus services, metro or Luas. From the start the national development plan took account of the need to address problems of social exclusion that are related to poor or non-existent public transport in certain rural areas across the country, areas with which we are all familiar in our various constituencies. This was particularly true where low population densities meant that commercial public transport services would not be available for obvious reasons.
Many people in rural areas were isolated in their communities and had difficulties in accessing basic services, such as medical appointments, or simply getting out to do the shopping and meet their friends. This was especially the case for older people and people with disabilities, though of course it applied to others as well. The initiative was piloted with a view to identifying ways and means that might help to address this issue.
Originally designed as a two-year pilot scheme to finish at the end of 2003, the RTI was extended to the end of 2004 to provide a fuller picture of the likely scale of the benefits that it could provide, and subsequently for a further two years to the end of 2006. This was done to build up a significant body of information and experience about the advantages of rural transport and the range of ways in which it could be provided.
We have all seen the tremendous benefits the RTI has brought to communities across the country, thanks to the efforts of the 34 projects funded under the initiative, and to those of Pobal. It has made a huge difference to the lives of thousands of people who would otherwise not have access to public transport services. This initiative can and does transform life for those who benefit. It is based on the sound principle that local people know best what transport services they need. The Government's role is one of facilitator, helping local communities to address their transport needs through financial and administrative support, while communities themselves take the lead in developing transport services to fulfil these needs. It is a bottom-up approach.
As Senator Kitt has stated, the pilot phase of the initiative will conclude at the end of this year and in line with Government announcements in the matter, preparations are being made to mainstream and put on a permanent footing the provision of rural transport from 2007 onwards. This work will be influenced by the undoubted success of the pilot RTI and the outcome of a recent public consultation process in the matter, which I announced in September and allowed a number of weeks in which the RTIs and others, whether individuals or groups, could make submissions. All the submissions have been received. I shall announce details of the mainstreaming of the initiative in a matter of weeks.
I assure the House that in developing proposals for a more permanent RTI, particular consideration is being given to the views of all those involved in the pilot phase of the RTI, especially passengers, operators and managers to establish how best the scheme can work from 2007 onwards. Also, in developing proposals for the post 2006 period, attention will be paid to the transport needs of rural communities that do not have access to public transport. As requested by Senator Kitt, it would not be possible to put the RTI on a permanent footing without increased funding and we are doing that.
My Department provided €3 million for the RTI in each of the years 2002, 2003 and 2004. An amount of €4.5 million was provided for the initiative in 2005 and funding of €5.1 million has
been provided for the RTI in 2006. This has resulted in an overall funding commitment of more than €18 million to the end of 2006 which compares very favourably with the €4.4 million originally provided for the RTI in the National Development Plan 2000-2006.
In parallel with the implementation of Transport 21, the Department's ten-year transport investment programme, my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, has announced that he will double the cash funding, based on the 2005 allocation of €5.1 million, available to the RTI by 2007 and that thereafter, he will steadily increase the funding available for rural transport services; ultimately to a cash level of approximately €20 million, four times the 2005 allocation. The Government's commitment to do this is reflected in Towards 2016, the new ten-year framework social partnership agreement.
In line with these commitments, the Government is to provide €9 million for the RTI in 2007. This funding will facilitate the transition of the RTI programme from the end of its pilot phase into the beginning of the mainstreaming process. In making specific allocations to the individual RTI project groups from this funding, I am anxious that Pobal should work closely with the existing groups to maximise the impact of the funding through, among other things, increased service provision and wider area coverage as well as ensuring continued value for money. The State got value for money in the investment of €15 million in the initial period.
It should be borne in mind that the RTI groups also benefit each year from funding provided by the Department of Social and Family Affairs arising from the application of the free travel scheme to the initiative. As requested by many individuals and groups during my travels, we will liaise with the Department on the mainstreaming of the initiative. Some RTI groups are also generating additional funds from the provision of transport services to the health boards and from other sources. I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. The provision of specific transport services under the RTI is the responsibility of the RTI groups in conjunction with Pobail, which is where it should remain. Those are the people who fully appreciate the services required in their own areas. We will continue to act as facilitators and to provide the necessary funds.
