Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I know I am but I am responding to the Taoiseach's reply to Deputy Ó Caoláin and I am pursuing the value for money aspect of this arrangement. It does not seem sensible to rent long term. I do not know of anybody other than the State that would enter into long-term leases at present in circumstances where the housing market is such that it makes more sense to buy. Why are the authorities not buying these dwellings rather than entering into long-term lease arrangements?

In relation to the committees on various matters, which of them deals with transport? There is an issue concerning taxi regulation that the Government should address. The taxi regulator has proposals to bring in a regulation whereby vehicles used as taxis will have to be changed after nine years. One can have a car that might be ten or 12 years old and, depending on the car and how it has been maintained, it might be much better than another car that is five years old. I understand from full-time taxi drivers that, in the first instance, many of them do not have the money to change their cars. If they go to their banks, they will be refused loans to change their cars, which will drive many of them out of this business. They tell me that a part-time taxi driver with a pension, or another income, is in a better position to get a car loan from his or her bank. This measure will have a distorting effect on the taxi business and it is unnecessary given that these cars have to undergo an NCT and meet the requirements of the carriage office and taxi drivers have to maintain their taxis to the required standard. The Government should examine this proposal because it seems the taxi regulator has gone far beyond what needs to be done to ensure there is a good quality taxi service.

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