Mr. James Maguire:

I am telling the committee what will happen. About 3,500 taxis will be lost throughout the country. That is what will happen. It will put so much pressure on the industry. We do not get any help from anyone now through the night. We should have the DART and buses running through the night. If that does not happen, and 3,500 taxis are lost, there will be a big problem. Members are not being told the truth and I am telling the truth.

I am 44 years driving a taxi in Dublin. I have seen the way it has come and gone. I was lucky enough to get a grant and buy an electric vehicle because the electric vehicles were not there. At the moment - take this on board - there are 22 vehicles lying in driveways because they cannot get suitability to get on the road. It is a crazy scenario. They sent SGS over to Ballymount to seal meters instead of bringing SGS to where they were. It has taken perhaps six or seven hours to get through to the suitability and one cannot get it for two or three weeks or something like that. This is already a disaster and it will get worse. We will be back in repeatedly. Unless somebody listens in the NTA, the country is in for a bad time with taxis.