A Monaghan councillor has highlighted her concerns over the lack of public transport services available in her locality. The issue was raised by Sinn Fein's Sinead Flynn. Speaking to Northern Sound, Cllr Flynn said; "The lack of reliable public transport in rural areas means that rural households are more reliant on their car to access basic services and commute to and from work and school. There is a concern around the lack of bus services available in the area. At a time when keeping a car on the road is getting higher by the day, as highlighted by the recent increase on fuel costs brought in by this government, we are experiencing a significant surge in demand for public transport.
"We need additional public transport services in this region, there are a large number of children, students and older residents without direct access to public transport for school, work or medical appointments and in some cases the lack of local bus services is leaving our elderly from rural communities with no option but to pay very high taxi fares to attend appointments."
Cllr Flynn continued; "I have made contact with the National Transport Authority to review their services to ensure that we have an affordable, safe and a more accessible public transport service available throughout all of our towns and villages. I’m also asking for the villages of Smithboro and Rockcorry to be urgently added to the TFI local link service."
