Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Absolutely. One must consider an appropriate pricing mechanism. Young people spend quite a lot of money when they go out for a night. If charging them €15 for a safe way of getting to and from places means that one can provide more services, that is fair enough. Many parents would be more than willing to pay out such sums to ensure their children came and went from discos or wherever they were bound. Even before I set up this scheme, there were certain areas in which people provided what were commonly termed "disco buses". It was a great relief for the parents of those areas, because they knew the driver was a responsible adult, as opposed to people getting lifts home at night from people who might have been tempted to drive a little too fast. All Members are familiar with the related carnage.

All possibilities must be examined and I note there is a lot of interest in the House in this regard. I am open to the idea, when I receive the report, of attending the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to have a discussion on this subject in order that Members collectively can put their minds together, to maximise, within the financial envelopes available to me, the possible impact of the scheme.

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