Conor D McGuinness exposes rural transport gaps

My question is a simple one, and it's for the Department of Rural Community Development and the Gaeilteacht. And as a department that's across rural proofing and that's responsible for our rural future, the level of engagement, who it's been with, what it's been about, how often it has taken place with state agencies, semi-state bodies, other government departments, when it comes to transport services and the need for transport services, particularly public transport, to adequately meet the needs of rural communities. Go raibh maith agat. I have to ask about the question, and I'm sorry if I didn't get the answer clearly, and I'm sorry if I didn't get the answer as well as I should have. And thank you for raising this very important role. And can I just say at the beginning, and thank you for your interest in rural transport, I know you have a group up tomorrow from West Waterford as well, and hopefully we'll get together on that. Government is very much of the view that rural transport plays a very pivotal and important role in supporting our rural communities, but also in ensuring that our rural people and places are interconnected. While, as I said, responsibility for provision of transport services, including engagement with relevant state agencies and semi-state bodies, falls under the Department of Transport, with Minister O'Brien and myself as the Minister for Rural Transport, the Government's Rural Future Policy does take a whole-of-government approach to rural development, with Minister O'Kerry leading in terms of actions to support rural communities being delivered across a range of departments and agencies. And I suppose the important point, Deputy MacGuinness, is that the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan has delivered significant improvements in rural transport services over the lifetime of a rural future to date. If you look at what we've delivered under the National Transport Authority, with funding from the Department of Transport, we've seen 185 new or enhanced services being implemented in the last four years, linking over 240 towns and villages to the public transport network, with funding for the Rural Transport Programme, and that rural regular service increased by 32% from 2024 to 2025, and over £87 million being invested, boosting passenger numbers in a regular rural service by 47%. And I suppose the important point, Kean-Cora, for all of us who understand the importance of rural transport, is that under Connecting Ireland's programme, upwards of over 600,000 people now have access to useful daily public transport services for the first time. And I conclude this segment in this. I know we can do more. We're ambitious to do more. And I accept that there are difficulties and lacunas. And I come back to you on that. Thank you, Margaret. Minister, I know that transport policy and funding for most transport modes rests with the Department of Transport, but I specifically put this question to you and to Minister Killeary because I believe it is your department, Minister Killeary's department, that has the onus for advocating for rural communities, with every government department, ensuring that the voice and the needs of rural communities are heard and met. And that's why I put the question here in this context. Let me tell you a story very briefly of Grange in West Waterford, a rural community, actually quite a significant population there, living spread out, but a bus errand bus stop, a bus errand service, intercity service, that has served that community for a long time, no longer serves it because the bus stop has been taken away because of road safety concerns. Now, it's not today or yesterday that councillors in Waterford City and County Council, myself, I was one of them, but a cross party raised issues with road safety there and looked for investment. But I think the Department of Rural Development needs to engage with local authorities and agencies in funding for these schemes. Thank you Deputy Ian. Again, as you know, I've been down in West Waterford and I do hope we'll find a solution to that impasse because it doesn't, to me, having visited the site, having spoken to locals, make sense to me from what's happening there. Now you have asked that that would be looked at, to be fair. Can I just make the point in the round that Minister Killeary has been very proactive, as I have, in being an advocate for rural Ireland, for rural communities. That voice is very much heard by both him and I in government and across government and indeed we're very close to the development of a rural future, that next five year strategy and Minister Killeary is undergoing bilaterals at the moment with government departments around that future document and I think it's important that it takes a whole of government approach because you are right, our rural communities have made significant advances over this government's lifetime and the last. What we're seeing now is a set of 600,000 people interconnected with access to 185 new or enhanced services and that stakeholder engagement, we will continue to drive that. Thank you. Minister, that's well and good, but for those communities that have had a service for a long number of years and when it's removed because of a deterioration in road quality, because of a lack of investment in our road structure, this is on the N25 road that I have mentioned here many times with Minister O'Brien and the Department of Transport, but because of that lack of investment, because of the lack of money being available to local authorities to do safety works, to put in infrastructure around bus stops, Bus Eireann and Waterford City and County Council had to take the decision that they didn't want to take to remove that bus stop and a whole community is left without connection to Dungarvan, to Yall, to Waterford City and to onward routes. So, whereas there has been absolutely progress when it comes to Local Link, for example, in order for many of these people living in Grange to access Local Link, to access other transport modes, to access most public services, they have to get into Dungarvan or they have to get into Yall and that's not available to them anymore. Thank you, Deputy Minister. Finally, please. I think, Deputy, to be fair, this government and the Department of Transport have been very proactive in our support of rural transport and I think you wouldn't dismiss that this year, €718 million has been allocated for investment in a regional local loads network. I don't think you'll oppose that and Waterford to its County Council has received significant funding. We are, as a Department of Rural Community, but also as a Department of Transport, very much committed to continued investment in our roads infrastructure, but also in that critical piece of connectivity of people and that's infrastructure and people in our regional and rural areas and I would make the point to you, and I think you won't disagree with me, there has been significant improvement in the provision of rural transport, there has been a growth in the usage of it and I go back to that point about the whole piece around the number of people using it, the number of services. I accept there are differences in terms of difficulties and challenges and we must, as part of the budgetary process, walk to ensure that rural transport receives its allocation of funding to progress new routes. And I will walk with you on that.