2026-07-14

1. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht as the Minister with responsibility for rural proofing and Our Rural Future, the engagement his Department has with State agencies and semi-State bodies to ensure that transport services adequately meet the needs of rural communities. [53140/26]

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht na ceiste. Is cúis mhór bhróid dom an cheist seo a fhreagairt ar son mo chomhghleacaithe, an tAire, an Teachta Calleary, agus go mórmhór an tAire Iompair, an Teachta O'Brien. I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and for his interest in rural transport. He will have a group from west Waterford here tomorrow. I hope we will get together. The Government is of the view that rural transport plays a pivotal and important role in supporting rural communities and ensuring rural people and places are interconnected. While responsibility for the provision of transport services, including engagement with relevant State agencies and semi-State bodies, falls under the remit of the Department of Transport and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, with me as the Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport, the Government’s Our Rural Future policy takes a whole-of-government approach to rural development, with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, leading on actions to support rural communities being delivered across a range of Departments and agencies. The important point is that the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan has delivered significant improvements in rural transport services over the lifetime of Our Rural Future to date. Under the National Transport Authority, with funding from the Department of Transport, 185 new or enhanced services have been delivered or implemented in the past four years, linking more than 240 towns and villages to the public transport network. With funding for the rural transport programme, regular rural services increased by 32% between 2024 and 2025. More than €87 million was invested, boosting passenger numbers on regular rural services by 47%. The important point for all of us who understand the importance of rural transport is that under the Connecting Ireland programme more than 600,000 people now have access to useful daily public transport services for the first time. We can do more. We are ambitious to do more. I accept there are difficulties and lacunas and I will come back again on that.

Transport policy and funding for most transport modes rests with the Department of Transport but I specifically put this question to the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, because the onus is on Deputy Calleary's Department to advocate for rural communities with every Government Department to ensure the voices and needs of rural communities are heard and met. That is why I put the question in this context. I will briefly tell the story of Grange in west Waterford. It is a rural community with a significant population which is spread out. A Bus Éireann intercity service that has served the community for a long time no longer serves it because the bus stop was taken away due to road safety concerns. It was not today nor yesterday that councillors on Waterford City and County Council - I was one of them-----

Thank you, Deputy.

A cross-party group raised issues about road safety there and looked for investment.

The Minister of State will respond and then the Deputy can come back in.

The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht needs to engage with local authorities and agencies on funding for these schemes.

As the Deputy is aware, I have been in west Waterford and I hope we will find a solution to that impasse. Having visited the site and spoken to locals, what is happening there does not make sense to me. I have asked that it be looked at. I will make the point in the round that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, has been proactive, as have I, in being an advocate for rural Ireland and rural communities. That voice is heard by the Minister and me and across the Government. We are close to the development of the next five-year Our Rural Future strategy. The Minister is undertaking bilateral meetings with other Departments at the moment about that document. It is important that it takes a whole-of-government approach because the Deputy is right. Rural communities have made significant advances over the lifetime of this Government and that of the last one. Now, 600,000 people are interconnected with access to 185 new or enhanced services and-----

Thank you, Minister of State. You can come back in.

-----we will continue to drive stakeholder engagement.

That is well and good but the community had a service for many years and it was removed because of a deterioration in road quality due to a lack of investment in road structures. This is on the N25, a road I have mentioned many times to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and to the Department of Transport. Due to the lack of investment - the lack of money available to local authorities to do safety works and put in infrastructure around bus stops - Bus Éireann and Waterford City and County Council had to take a decision, which they did not want to take, to remove the bus stop. A whole community has been left without connection to Dungarvan, Youghal and Waterford city and onward routes. While there absolutely has been progress on Local Link, for many people living in Grange to access Local Link and other transport modes and most public services, they have to get to Dungarvan or Youghal and that is not available to them anymore.

The Government and the Department of Transport have been proactive in their support of rural transport. I do not think the Deputy would dismiss the fact that this year €718 million has been allocated to investment in the regional and local road network. I do not think the Deputy will oppose that and Waterford, through its county council, has received significant funding. The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Transport are committed to continued investment in our roads infrastructure, and in the critical piece of connectivity of people in our rural areas. I do not think the Deputy will disagree that there has been significant improvement in the provision of rural transport and growth in the use of it. I go back to the point about the number of people using it and the number of services. I accept there are difficulties and challenges and we must, as part of the budgetary process, work to ensure rural transport receives its allocation of funding to progress new routes.