Mr. David McGuinness:

That is obvious, with the removal of prime taxi stands around Dublin at the drop of a hat. Prime taxi stands in the city centre can be removed, for whatever purpose. Whether it is to install a bicycle stand, a bus lane or to have a party over a weekend, taxi stands are removed. Going back years, there was talk about integrating the taxi system with the other public transport systems. I think there is one luas stop with a taxi rank attached to it, and that is out in Cabra. It is not even in the city centre. It goes back to not negotiating with the sector. Due to the fact that the sector is funded privately by the drivers, we are not taken into account in the overall transport system. That goes back to the issue of events. A taxi stand should be set up, but that never happens. Yet, other forms of transport are allowed right up to the door of events. I totally believe that Deputy Boyd Barrett is right. We are not considered, even though we carry the Transport for Ireland, TFI, logo. We are not considered as an integral part of the overall system.