Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am all for proper regulation of the industry. We should keep Uber out because users of that service do not know who their driver will be or whether the vehicle will be safe or properly regulated. However, that is not the issue I wish to raise. My question regards a proposal by Mytaxi to bring in a ride-share scheme. If there is a big queue at a taxi rank late at night and one proposes sharing a taxi with another member of the queue, that is fine. However, if these taxi app companies set up a ride-share scheme whereby three or four people who had not met would get into a taxi at different locations, problems may arise, particularly late at night. Passengers would not know with whom they will be sharing the taxi nor how much alcohol their fellow passengers may have taken. It may lead to fights over the division of fares and so on, with taxi drivers being left to manage such situations.

Does the Minister welcome the proposal being put forward by some sections of the taxi industry? I do not. I share the concerns of taxi drivers. A ride-sharing scheme should not be introduced until it has been properly examined and all stakeholders consulted on the possible dangers.

See this speech in context