Mr. Joe Herron:

The Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, in association with the Taxi Alliance Ireland and other representative bodies, presented the National Transport Authority with an alternative east-west and west-east route, in other words, through the College Green area from Dame Street to O'Connell Street and vice versa.While it was not dismissed out of hand, it was dismissed as not being acceptable. We believe insufficient consideration was given to this proposal. As I said, as taxis provide a door-to-door service, they need access to all areas. The idea that they would have only access to what is described as "very close to" is not good enough. It is not acceptable that a taxi driver would be expected to drop a passenger at College Green, leaving him or her to make the remainder of his or her journey on foot to, say, the Shelbourne Hotel, the Westbury Hotel or Grafton plaza.

When Deputy Catherine Murphy mentioned the Dublin transportation initiative, I was reminded that the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation had been presented with a plan for the number of cars that would use Dublin city streets in the following five years. The projections were exceeded in one year. As we do not know what the future will bring in Dublin, when decisions are being made on transport issues, each provider of transport must be given the opportunity to engage in that regard. It is not good enough that such decisions are made either individually by Dublin City Council or the National Transport Authority or both organisations together. There must be widespread consultation on these matters into the future.