Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 October 2013
612. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the impact the €0.9 million reduction in funding for the rural transport programme will have; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44576/13]
View answerThe budget allocation for the Rural Transport Programme (RTP) in 2014 is €9.446 million which includes €950k in Community Service Programme funding transferred from the Department of Social Protection Vote. The 2013 RTP allocation is €9.633 million which includes a one-off €500k to support the restructuring of the Programme announced by me on 9 July 2013. Therefore, the underlying decrease in RTP funding in 2014 over 2013 is in line with the Comprehensive Expenditure Review reductions for Exchequer funded public transport services.
The figure of 0.9m in the Expenditure Report 2014 under the heading ‘Others’, is used to capture all the proposed savings under €1m – and the amount is a balancing figure – with the RTP given as an example rather than representing the full amount.
The purpose of the restructuring of the RTP is to protect the provision of rural transport services into the future. The new model for the delivery of rural transport services involving the establishment of 18 Transport Co-ordination Units in place of the existing 35 RTP Groups, will allow for the maximising of spend on services and the reduction of administration costs, thereby ensuring that the resources available are dedicated to the greatest extent possible to the provision of transport services to those in rural communities who need them. The NTA has advised there will be no changes to service levels throughout the restructuring period.
