Speech on the Fine Gael Motion on rural transport

That Seanad Eireann; 

Noting;

• That the continued provision of public rural transport links is essential to the social and economic health of rural life 

• The withdrawal of these services will plunge homes all over Ireland into isolation, loneliness and expense 
• That huge fear and worry has been provoked by the threatened withdrawal of rural transport links, particularly the pilot evening rural transport scheme which is a crucial service for many elderly people living in isolation 



And considering; 


• The CSO indicates that 50% of rural families experience difficulty in accessing public transport. 

• An estimated 21% of rural families experience great difficulty in accessing basic services such as shops,post offices and GPs due to a lack of public transport. 

• Nationwide bus routes are currently under review and it is likely that a large number of services on routes in rural areas will be withdrawn 

• The proposal in the McCarthy Report to cease funding for the Rural Transport Programme
• The comparatively low cost of the Rural Transport Programme in the wider context of transport expenditure 



Calls on the Government to: 



• Introduce a national transport regulator responsible for opening up transport networks to new competition and to facilitate better targeted subsidies that protect transport options in rural areas at least cost; 

• Pending the introduction of a transport regulator, do everything possible to ensure existing rural transport services are maintained; 

• Reject attempts to damage the social fabric of rural Ireland. I strongly support the thrust of this motion and indeed I would endorse any sensible motion which would seek to support rural Ireland in these troubled times.

The last year has been one of the toughest for Ireland’s farm families in living memory as rural Ireland has reaeled from a series of economic shocks, any one of which would have been serious, but arriving together, have had a devastating impact on farm incomes and rural communities.

When the property bubble burst the economist Ronnie O’Toole predicted that it would have a far greater impact on rural Ireland than in urban areas. He was right. In many areas of the west of Ireland, the off-farm income from working on the buildings had become the main source of income for many rural families. Then almost overnight that income disappeared.

Only a few short years ago milk prices had increased dramatically driven by of all things by the Chinese discovery of the health benefits of milk, and the less healthy delights of a newly acquired taste for cheeseburgers. However in 2008 a contaminated infant-milk formula scandal destroyed the trade and the global credit crunch caused a collapse in commodity prices leading to farmers being paid less than the cost of producing the milk.

The global credit crunch also led to a 20% drop in the value of sterling making Irish food exports to the UK 20% more expensive and putting the Irish food industry and particularly smaller Irish companies under a great deal of pressure. The price differential between north and south led to an exodus of shoppers heading north and provided Tesco’s with an excuse to start sourcing food from the UK, rather than from Irish suppliers, putting even further pressure on Irish food companies and the prices they paid for raw materials. As if all of this was not enough the near collapse of Irish banking system has dried up credit and working capital at the worst possible time.

Now the McCarthy report is recommending eliminating the rural transport initiative to save the princely sum of €11m. To put this figure into context the Government is overspending by €400m per week.

As an aside, Data centre expert Stephen McCarron of Dublin-based Hosting365 has looked at the number of servers currently being run by the Irish Government, and he estimates the Government could save the Exchequer at least €23m per annum through virtualization, reducing energy costs, and carbon emissions but with no negative impact on services or employment levels in the public service.

The impact of such a cut to the rural transport initiative will be out of all proportion to the amount of money saved.

According to a Department of Transport Report, Transport is a serious unmet need for many people living in rural Ireland and it has been identified as a key factor underlying levels of exclusion in rural areas.

Estimates derived from the 2002 National Rural Transport Survey suggest that as many as 380,000 people in rural areas perceive themselves as having unmet transport needs. Certain key target groups are also especially vulnerable to a lack of transport, including older people, young people, people on low incomes, and people with mobility, sensory or cognitive impairments. Combined, these groups alone account for an estimated 200,000 people of the persons reporting unmet needs.

Demographic trends, in particular overall population growth and changes in the age profile, suggest that the numbers of people with unmet rural transport needs are likely to persist. Projections indicate that an estimated 450,000 rural dwellers could have unmet transport needs by 2021, for example, including 250,000 people in key target groups.

In short the McCarthy report is suggesting cuts at a time when the need for rural transport is growing and indeed is greater than ever.

The current rural transport is cost effective which frankly is far more than can be said of much of Government expenditure particularly the cost of transporting our Ministers and senior officials who seem to believe that public transport is a state Merc, first class seats on a jet and limos between terminals. 

The Rural Transport Programme received just €9 million in funding from the Department of Transport in 2008, with a further €2 million coming from the NDP. Yet operators within the network provided over 1.2 million passenger journeys in rural areas where people have simply no other public or private transport options to go about their business.

The Rural Transport Programme is also a critical source of local employment with 80 drivers directly employed by Rural Transport Programme companies and a further 657 privately employed drivers.

According to Pobal’s Performance and Impact Report 2008/2009 "Rural Transport Connecting Rural Ireland", the RTP met or exceeded all of its key performance indicators and targets.

It is not easy to cost the impact of social isolation and its impact particularly on the elderly in rural Ireland but I would hazard a guess that it is far higher than €11m a year.

The editorial of one regional paper put it very well when it described the Rural Transport Programme in the following terms “It is a vital link for elderly and isolated people in rural areas, a social outlet, something that helps them maintain their independence and confidence, something for them to look forward to once or twice a week and a reason to keep on living life to the full. For these people, many of whom would have worked hard all their lives and paid their dues, it is a deserved support and service.”

I have no doubt that in the coming months this Government will need to make significant cuts to Government expenditure if we are to restore the public finances but I would urge the Government to cut the fat before it cuts the muscle, to cut waste which is endemic in the system rather than modest, targeted programmes which deliver a significant return on investment. The elderly in Ireland have paid their dues to society from years of hard work and service, the fiscal crises facing the state is not their fault and they should not be the ones to have to pay for it.

As I have said earlier the cost of the Rural Transport Programme could be more than met by the more efficient use of IT in the public service, in short if the Government stopped wasting money it could afford to pay for this vital service I urge it to do so.