To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what work he is conducting in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure on the availability of public transport in rural areas.

While the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) have responsibility for transport in rural areas, officials in my Department have been collaborating with DfI, over many years to ensure rural dwellers transportation requirements are adequately represented.

As a result of that collaboration work the Assisted Rural Travel Scheme (ARTS) was developed in 2009. Through funding from my Department’s Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme, the ARTS Scheme provides rural dwellers, with a valid SmartPass to travel free or half fare on the Dial-a-Lift services provided by the Rural Community Transport Partnerships (RCTPs).

Since the commencement of ARTS over 2M passenger trips have been delivered for rural dwellers, in the main the elderly and the disabled.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic my officials have worked closely with DfI colleagues to support the RCTP’s to provide flexibility to maintain and where necessary transition their operations in support of rural communities and rural dwellers. This proved very important in the provision of food parcels and prescriptions during the initial lockdown.

To fully support the recently commenced vaccination programme and working in conjunction with Minister Mallon, we have agreed that RCTPs can provide transport upon request to vaccination centres, subject to capacity, for both members and non-members where the proposed user has no other readily available transport.