Mr. David McGuinness:

On the vetting procedures involved, in our submission to the review body we asked for increased vetting procedures, as did many of the other taxi representative bodies. We are not opposed to vetting, rather we are seeking increased vetting procedures. We would welcome vetting of a standard higher than that which applies to the private security industry. The issue for us is that the vetting procedures used are not equal. Through contacts with the Garda Síochána and the Garda central vetting unit in Thurles, it has come to light that vetting of persons from other jurisdictions residing in the jurisdiction can only commence from the time they entered the country. We have a problem with this. As an organisation, we realise the importance of having proper vetting procedures to ensure people will be comfortable and feel safe when getting into a taxi. We are concerned about the Garda Síochána only being able to vet a person from the time he or she entered the State.