The importance of public transport and connectivity in rural areas cannot be emphasised strongly enough. In that regard, I acknowledge the tremendous work of Alan O'Connell, manager of Kerry Local Link, and his staff. As a councillor, I called a number of years ago for a hop-on, hop-off bus service on the Ring of Kerry. Today, thankfully, there are several buses going in both directions but there is a great need for additional routes. The tender process for the Killarney to Mallow route is complete and we await funding. I will raise three other important routes: Beaufort to Killorglin via Whitefield; Kate Kearney's Cottage at the world-famous tourist attraction, the Gap of Dunloe, to Beaufort village and on to Killarney town; and from Dooks in Glenbeigh to Cromane and on to Killorglin town. Will the Minister ask the Minister for Transport to allocate the necessary funding to the NTA for the Connecting Ireland mobility scheme to allow these important routes to proceed?

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