Peadar Tóibín
Question:52. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport if he will report on his recent attendance at the Rural Ideas Forum. [55582/22]
View answerThursday, 10 November 2022
Questions (52)
Written answers
On 23 August 2022, I attended the ‘Public Transport and its opportunities for Rural Ireland’ event which was organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development in partnership with my own Department. This event formed part of the Department of Rural and Community Development’s ‘Rural Ideas Forum’ event series.
During the event I outlined how through the ‘Our Rural Future – Rural Development Policy’, we have strongly committed to improving public transport services in rural areas and to piloting new transport initiatives for people of all ages and abilities living there.
A key deliverable among these policies is of course the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan. 'Connecting Ireland' aims to provide better connections between villages and towns by linking these with an enhanced regional network connecting cities and regional centres nationwide, through expanding TFI Local Link services and by prioritising public transport projects that enhance connectivity. The overarching aim of 'Connecting Ireland' is to develop an integrated, accessible, and sustainable network of public transport offerings across Ireland.
I emphasised that the proposed improvements will not only be focussed on enhancing the regular “timetabled” services. Demand-based “door-to-door” services will still be at the core of rural transport. Importantly, the ethos of “community-led transport” will also be maintained.
Following presentations from the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Dingle Creativity and Innovation Hub, there was a panel discussion which included representatives from Irish Rural Link and TFI Donegal Sligo-Leitrim Local Link. Participants at this online event then took part in small group discussions and shared their written responses to key questions on the priority focus, opportunities and challenges around developing public transport over the next twenty years. My colleague, Minister of State Joe O’Brien made closing remarks at the event.
The event was well attended , and it provided a good opportunity to hear a cross section of views from a range of experts and stakeholders. I believe that this was a very useful and practical event and I would like to thank all who attended. The ideas and proposals from the event, which included the importance of accessible transport for all and the role of community public transport services, will assist in the continued rollout of accessible, integrated and sustainable public transport services in rural areas nationwide.