Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In some cases, the uptake and the demand for these services has been very poor. We need to look at other solutions and we are doing that, particularly around rural taxis and hackney licences. We are trying to liberalise that system and make them more available, particularly at night-time and on weekends.

There are more Garda checks because there are more gardaí. We now have 14,000 gardaí again. How they are deployed and the work they do is entirely a matter for the Garda Commissioner. It is not done under political direction and it should not be done under political direction. Deputies should bear in mind what Garda checks are all about. They are not just about checking people to see if they are over the limit or have been taking drugs or alcohol before driving. It is not just about making sure they are taxed and insured. It is also about denying the freedom of the road to people who are committing crimes. There are a lot of people, as Deputy Healy-Rae knows very well, who are travelling around rural Ireland committing very serious crimes and burglaries. Gardaí say to us that when they run these checkpoints on the roads, they deny freedom of the road to people who commit those crimes. It is not just about drink-driving or catching people out. It is about catching people who are burglarising people's homes, farms and businesses.

See this speech in context