Transport scheme provides a valuable lifeline for older people living in isolation

IN some circles, it was referred to the “let them eat cake” recommendation.

Hidden among the myriad of proposals forwarded in the An Bord Snip Nua report in 2009, was one to discontinue the Rural Transport Programme (RTP). The savings were relatively small, about €11 million.

For thousands at the sharp end of isolation, the recommendation fitted the template of knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing.