Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When in 2019? The rural hackney licence has been there since 2012. It has been in place for seven years. All Members of the House will agree it is simply not working. We need to address the deficiencies in rural transport now, not at the end of 2019 or in 2020, as the Minister seems to be suggesting. It is not just about bringing people to the rural pub. It is about maintaining and sustaining an element of sociability in communities that have no transport.

The Minister has cited insurance. He has a responsibility in this regard. Why has his Department not completed all the recommendations of the cost of insurance working group? I reiterate the question I asked at the outset, when did he last meet the taxi advisory group to seek its proposals for a review of the hackney licence? The Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, recently told the Dáil, "We are trying to liberalise that system and make them more available, particularly at night-time and on weekends." Would the Minister support considering the possibility of introducing ride-sharing facilities to provide a service that is clearly lacking right across the length and breadth of rural Ireland?

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