14/10/09

CORK EAST Labour TD Seán Sherlock has come out in defence of the Rural Transport Programme having seen first hand the benefits of the Scheme in North Cork. Having taken a trip on the Thursday services to Fermoy, Deputy Sherlock said he got an insight into the benefit of the scheme from those who rely on the service every week.

"It is more than a simple means from getting from A to B. There is a camaraderie amongst the regulars who avail of the service. For these people it is an opportunity to catch up with their friends, it fosters a social solidarity amongst those who use it. Many of the clients who avail of the service may live close to villages or towns, but many of them do not or cannot drive. They need this service.

 

"This is an outlet for isolated people, both in terms of access to transport but also to friends. It is these factors that the clinical McCarthy report fails to acknowledge in its assessment of the Programme's value to rural Ireland," said Deputy Sherlock.

 

"Having witnessed Fianna Fáil members of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport pledge their support to the Rural Transport Scheme, I am disappointed that there is not a commitment to safeguard it in the new Programme for Government.

 

"The brief reference to the Rural Transport in the Programme for Government adopted last weekend only states that Fianna Fáil and the Greens will ‘explore' various ideas. For me that does not go far enough in protecting what is a popular, vibrant and essential scheme for Rural Ireland," concluded Deputy Sherlock.

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