Mr. Paul Lenehan:

I thank members for their time. One of the main problems we have in restaurants and hotels around the country is getting to and from local destinations. Bus parking is huge, as our colleagues identified. I am from Kildare town, which was identified as a premier tourist destination in County Kildare a couple of years ago, but there is still no bus parking in the centre of the town. We have Kildare Village and the National Stud and it is quite a monastic town, but there is no bus parking. The various county councils need to be urged to provide bus parking where they can. We are very much a tourism island and that makes perfect sense.

We are the restaurants association and our colleagues in restaurants and gastro-pubs around the country find it difficult to get their customers to and from their destinations and locations. We would love to see the Uberisation, let us call it, of the whole system. It needs to be fast-tracked, or something needs to happen soon, because it is impossible to get taxis in rural destinations. It is really difficult and I do not think anyone truly appreciates it. Five years ago people went out late, at around 9 p.m., and tried to get home at around 10 p.m., 11 p.m., 12 midnight and 1 a.m. We now find people going out earlier, whether they are local and domestic customers or people coming from hotels, but they are having to leave and book a taxi at 11 p.m. or 11.15 p.m. They are all going home earlier than they probably want to just to be sure they can get home. It is chronic. Our restaurants are empty by 10.30 p.m. or 11 p.m. and that was never a thing before. That definitely needs to be looked at. That is pretty much it on that point.