New initiatives are being introduced to encourage people living in rural areas to use evening and late night public transport.
Following a pilot of Local Link bus services last Summer, the government is to fund all counties with evening buses until the end of the year.
The process of applying for a local area hackney licence is also being simplified, and a new pilot community transport service in 15 areas is being brought in on a volunteer-basis.
Minister of State Brendan Griffin, who volunteers as a community driver in Kerry says these kinds of services can often be quicker than taxis.
"We bought a pay-as-you-go phone at the very start, very simple, dropped around the number to every household in the community. People make a simple phone call and it's an on-demand service.
"And generally, because it's a local service, because we don't go half-an-hour from home or anything like that, generally the average waiting time, from the time you call to the time you get picked up is between five and ten minutes."
