A free and subsidised transport service to ferry people to and from pubs will be available only in rural areas where there is no existing public transport or taxi service, the Government indicated last night.
Proposals for a new service, which are in response to concerns about the future of rural pubs because of declining customer numbers, are to be finalised before the general election, Minister for Community and Rural Affairs Eamon Ó Cuív said yesterday.
Mr Ó Cuív is proposing that an existing heavily subsidised and free bus service system available in parts of rural Ireland be extended to provide an evening and night-time service to enable rural dwellers to visit their local pubs.
The current system, the Rural Transport Initiative, operates in a number of rural areas during the daytime, providing free or subsidised transport in areas with no public transport or taxi service.
It is envisaged that this system will be extended into the evening. It would still be provided free or heavily subsidised, and at this stage local publicans are not expected to be asked to contribute towards it.
There have been widespread claims that the recent clampdown on drink-driving, including the introduction of random breath-testing, has contributed to a significant drop in trade in rural pubs. The Government was keen to portray the initiative as targeting rural isolation and ensuring viable communities and facilities in rural Ireland.
Government officials and backbench Fianna Fáil TDs said there had been no lobbying on the issue of subsidised transport by the publican representative groups.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Ó Cuív said the current transport initiative scheme was "a mechanism to deal with market failure", and that it would be targeted at remote rural areas with no alternative to private cars.
Mr Ó Cuív rejected suggestions that the proposals amounted to the subsidising of people's drinking. "I never heard that argument being put in Dublin city when extra night-time services were provided," he said.
Galway East Fianna Fáil TD Joe Callanan said he was "all in favour" of recent drink-driving laws but initiatives were needed to tackle the potential side-effects on rural communities.
The proposals were welcomed by Fine Gael transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell, although she accused the Government of being motivated by electoral concerns.
Labour rural development spokeswoman Mary Upton also welcomed the initiative, and called for rates relief for rural pubs.
Meanwhile Independent Galway East TD Paddy McHugh claimed that morning checkpoints were not worthwhile. "All the gardaí are doing is annoying people on their way to work and Mass and other places," he said.