Mr. Gerard Macken:

In my opening statement I mentioned that I represent 22 groups from all over the country. All of the groups here have come together to make our voices heard. They represent other groups across the country as well. We have put our cases forward in solidarity. We had an awful lot more solidarity under the previous taxi advisory committee, on which four representative groups were represented. We now only have one representative among the 17 members of the committee. This is a very poor showing on the part of the previous Minister. I hope the new Minister will address this issue.

With regard to screens in vehicles, we have asked the National Transport Authority's engineers to go out to individuals who have fitted screens to take a look at them and see if they are suitable for the wider industry. The Road Safety Authority, RSA, has a different point of view with regard to how screens should be fitted from an engineering perspective. The NTA has done nothing with regard to screens apart from telling us that there are no safety screens available in Ireland or the UK which it deems suitable. One of the largest taxi fleets in Europe has been treated dismally in this regard.

We are not getting feedback from the NTA. While the various groups are working together, it is pointless doing so if we do not have anybody's ear on the issue. For this reason, I ask the new Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ryan, or someone in his Department or in the National Transport Authority to engage with the various groups in the industry to get realistic information.