It is understood that Cullen last week privately distanced himself from calls for a nighttime bus service to rural pubs, as proposed by Fianna Fáil TD Joe Callanan and backed by rural affairs minister �?amon �? Cuív.

Cullen has indicated that any new night-time rural transport service is now a matter for �? Cuív. A spokeswoman for Cullen was this weekend directing questions about the proposal to �? Cuív's office.

The two departments were also providing conflicting information about the source of funding for a new service. The Rural Transport Initiative - funded and overseen by Cullen's department - currently provides a subsidised service during daytime hours in isolated rural areas. A significant expansion of the scheme is planned for 2007 with Euro9m allocated from Cullen's department. However, Cullen's spokeswoman said there were "no plans to use those funds to expand a night-time scheme."

This differed from the comments by a spokeswoman for �? Cuív who said that "what is envisaged is that the rural transport initiative would be expanded to the evening." She said some discretionary money would be available from a Euro1m fund in �? Cuív's department. Significantly, �? Cuív and Cullen are not due to meet to discuss the proposal. Instead �? Cuív will meet the junior transport minister Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher. This meeting will take place in the "very near future, " according to �? Cuív's spokeswoman.

The rural affairs minister is to prepare proposals for the new night-time service but there is uncertainty over which department will ultimately have responsibility for the service and how much it would cost.

East Galway TD Joe Callanan last week wrote to Cullen seeking support for "a rural nitelink bus service to save the rural pub before it becomes extinct."

A rural-urban divide has opened up in Fianna Fáil over random breath-testing in the morning and the lack of a nighttime transport service in rural areas which has been blamed for the decline in rural pubs.

These differences will be aired when Callanan raises his buslink proposal at the next meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.