Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 May 2022
257. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Transport the additional bus services that have been provided to provide public transport for the Ukrainian refugees located in rural locations; if further services are intended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23468/22]
View answerIn line with the whole of Government approach, my Department and the National Transport Authority (NTA) have been working on practical and meaningful responses to the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis.
From the beginning of the crisis, we have provided newly arriving Ukrainians with free travel from their port of entry to their end destination on any PSO or Local Link service. Indeed, many commercial bus services similarly offered this assistance in getting people to a safe location.
I was also pleased to announce the provision of emergency public transport services to those refugees housed in rural or isolated locations to ensure better access to our local communities. This will be achieved through an acceleration of network improvements identified through the Connecting Ireland public consultation, including additional stops, route modifications, and more services with the aim of increasing connectivity. Rural areas will avail of such improvements, in practice catering for both existing demands as well as responding to the increased pressures on services where the local population has grown in response to the humanitarian crisis.
Additional bus services will also be deployed to cater for those housed away from the existing public transport network. Such measures will provide better access to a range of amenities, employment opportunities and to onward public transport connections to larger centres.
A Community Transport Fund is also being established to support occasional social travel requests. This will be operated by the TFI Local Link offices and will enable our Ukrainian guests to join in the many activities that are available in our towns, in particular, activities focused on youth, integration, culture, and education.
Transport is central to the response efforts by Ireland and collectively, these endeavours aim to support the integration of our Ukrainian guests into the local communities that are hosting them. We will keep the issue of transport provision under review as this situation continues to evolve.
In light of the NTA's responsibilities for the procurement and operation of public transport services in rural areas, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you regarding the details of which bus services have been introduced to date. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
