Mayo North East looking for clarification on RTP future

Mayo North East looking for clarification on RTP future


Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

The administrators of the Rural Transport Programme (RTP) in Mayo say they will be seeking further clarification from the Department of Transport following reports the programme will be dismantled.
Mayo North East is the LEADER company responsible for the management of the Rural Transport Programme (RTP) on a countywide basis supported by a county wide steering committee.
During the week, the Mayo North East were among 35 other companies which received an anonymous government document on how the community transport network are to be dismantled and reshaped under local authorities.
Mayo RTP currently provides 47 services on a county-wide basis and priority is given to providing transport services to people living in isolated rural parts of the county.
GrΡinne Gallagher, the Rural Transport Co-ordinator told The Mayo News that the company had concerns which they felt the Minister needed to clarify. She explained that they were already implementing what was set out on the leaked document but was concerned with the potential loss of the voluntary community input.
“There is a concern about the loss of service and social inclusion and if it goes to the County Council it will lose the voluntary input which was essential in the set up of the service in the first place. We are looking for clarification from the Minister on a number of issues including the proposal that routes will be PSO [Public Service Obligation] routes. We need clarification on that comes under PSO.
“The majority of our services are weekly and taken up by older people. They are a vital service and in terms of costs they are well below the national average. They are an essential service to many communities,” she said.
The Rural Transport Programme was established in 2003 and its mission statement is ‘to provide a quality nationwide community based public transport system in rural Ireland which responds to local needs’. The aim of the Mayo RTP is to identify, plan and provide appropriate rural transport for all rural dwellers in all parts of Mayo.
Under the new proposals, instead of volunteers guiding the service, it will fall to local authorities to decide where need is greatest. Ms Gallagher explained that currently all the current routes are identified by a voluntary board of management in the local community and said that the voluntary aspect was very important. She said they were worried this voluntary aspect may be taken away.
Responding to the leaked document, Junior Minister for Transport, Alan Kelly denied they were trying to abolish the programme.
“What we’re trying to do is the exact opposite. Right now, administration costs are high in relation to service. A new structure would allow for more money to go into services and we would have more services at a local level. That’s the ambition of our reform,” he said.

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