Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Fáiltím roimh an deis labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. I am reminded of the great urban-rural divide when I speak on a Bill such as this, although I acknowledge that this legislation is technical in nature. For obvious reasons, much of the debate has been focused on Dublin city centre and many of the changes involve new modes of transport. However, there is life outside of Dublin and we are sore enough after the weekend without Dublin monopolising the debate on this Bill. I ask the Acting Chairman to indulge me by allowing me to broaden the debate somewhat by introducing a rural element.

The Bill refers to the National Transport Authority, among other bodies. My lengthy correspondence with the Minister and Ms Anne Graham, the chief executive of the National Transport Authority, must have caused the destruction of a small forest. I am being sent around the houses and getting nowhere on an issue that remains as relevant today as it was on the first occasion I raised it with the Minister and Ms Graham. I refer to the sharp decline in the number of registered hackney drivers, which was highlighted in a reply to a recent parliamentary question I tabled. West Cork has a particular issue with the area test, although I am sure the problem also arises elsewhere. Cork is a very large county and hackney operators in my locality inform me that they cannot employ new hackney drivers because candidates are unable to pass the new area-based test. I appreciate that the Minister will have a good sense of the geography of west Cork. An applicant for a hackney licence from Clonakilty, Rosscarbery, Bandon or Dunmanway may be asked about side streets in Carrigaline, which is a world away from where they operate. Despite my entreaties to the Minister and Ms Graham, I continue to receive the answer that current practice will continue. This issue is a source of great frustration.

While I appreciate that this is technical legislation, I raise it because people in west Cork do not have the luxury of a public transport system. Unlike Deputy Farrell, I cannot speak about my constituents wanting an improved DART service. The other Deputy Daly in the House, my cousin, spoke about bus services on the north side of Dublin not being as good as services on the south side of the city. Many of the areas I represent do not have a public bus service, which is a luxury we cannot afford. I raise this matter, therefore, in this debate and plead with the Minister to have it re-examined. In the absence of public transport, the people I represent rely on hackney drivers and they feel hard done by as a result of the area knowledge test on which the National Transport Authority refuses to make progress with me.

As I stated, I have received a small forest of paper on this issue. I asked some hackney drivers in west Cork to write to the National Transport Authority outlining their personal experiences of this problem but Ms Graham repeatedly responds to our correspondence by stating nothing can be done.

I thank the Acting Chairman for allowing me such latitude in this discussion. As far as I am concerned, the Bill relates to public transport and we, in west Cork, view hackneys as public transport.

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