Seven rural areas have been selected on a pilot basis for the Government's new €500,000 night transport scheme.
Areas in west Cork, east Cork, Cavan, Sligo, Roscommon, Donegal and Laois have been approved for a year's funding, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon Ó Cuív announced yesterday.
He said that the initiative was separate to the existing rural transport programme, run by the Department of Transport, and was intended to address social isolation. It was being introduced in the wake of figures released this year which showed that rural pubs were closing at the rate of more than one a day.
Mr Ó Cuív, who has been anxious to counteract "booze-bus" media portrayals of the plan, said he believed that there was a need for evening transport services in parts of rural Ireland to allow people to participate fully in community, sporting and social activities.
"In many rural areas there are no public transport services at night. While there are hackney or taxi services in more developed areas, these are totally at the discretion of the providers of these services and do not provide a guaranteed service to rural people."
Last March, 22 of the 34 groups currently running the rural transport programme applied to run the new night scheme. Mr Ó Cuív said that the seven successful applicants had been chosen on the basis of factors such as evidence of need, capacity to deliver, value for money and geographical spread.
All passengers will be charged for travelling on the buses apart from holders of free travel passes such as senior citizens.
Mr Ó Cuív said that he expected the buses to begin running in the "next few weeks".
The seven successful groups are: West Cork Rural Transport (€83,652); Avondhu Development Group, East Cork (€77,018); Meath Accessible/Kilnaleck Community, Co Cavan (€87,296): Co Sligo Leader Partnership (€73,652); Tumna Shannon Development Company, Roscommon (€49,228); Síob Teoranta, Co Donegal (€49,000); and Laois Trip (€80,154).