The Minister for Social Protection and Rural Development says the government has been investing more in rural transport schemes to make them more attractive for people to use in their daily lives.
Minister Humphreys, who's visiting several community projects in Leitrim today, was reacting to research released by Social Justice Ireland this week which says the rural transport system here is not fit for purpose.
The Fine Gael Minister says more money has been invested in rural link schemes across the country in the last couple of years and efforts are being made to make the routes more accessible for the general population.
She says though that other means of resolving rural transport involve the development of working hubs and that it's also something which has seen significant government investment in recent years:
We are investing more in rural transport, but there's no point in driving empty buses around the country, we have to be sensible at this.
We need to have the transport at the right time and it has to be worked out what suits people.
I've worked closely with my local link in Cavan and Monaghan
They provide a great service that brings people from Monaghan to Cavan via rural route and connects both colleges.
What I'm trying to do is ensure people can work closer to home by investing in rural hubs.
