Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is aware of this issue, given that contact was made with her this year when she advised that it was a matter for the Minister for Transport and that all correspondence should be sent to him.

I will provide the background. The carriages are a regular sight in and around the St. Stephen's Green area as well as St. James's Gate. In May 2019, carriage drivers led a convoy to Leinster House to ask that new by-laws be made in respect of drivers in the capital. Since 2018, Dublin City Council has not issued licences for carriage drivers, which would allow them to operate commercially. This is due to older Victorian laws - the Dublin Carriage Act 1853 and the Dublin Amended Carriage Acts 1854 and 1855 - that state that the responsibility lies with the police force. These need to be repealed. In 2011, Dublin City Council took over responsibility for the licensing of horse-drawn carriage operators and drivers from the Garda Carriage Office. In late 2018, however, the council was advised that the legal basis for its by-laws regulating horse-drawn carriages was uncertain. As a result, it was determined that the council's 2011 by-laws on the control of horse-drawn carriages were not valid. In late 2019, the Attorney General confirmed that Dublin City Council was not empowered to regulate horse-drawn carriages because the 1853 to 1855 Acts had previously vested the power to regulate horse-drawn carriages in Dublin in the Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, to which An Garda Síochána is the successor. The Attorney General advised that legislation had to be introduced. Approval was given in December 2019 for the general scheme of a Bill empowering all local authorities to regulate this area.

I have looked through the legislative programme for this year.

There is nothing in it with regard to this issue which has been ongoing since 2018. This is a serious issue. If a tourist or other person gets knocked down in an accident involving one of these uninsured horse-drawn carriages, he or she will be completely at a loss and in a difficult situation.

The former Minister, Mr. Ross, received approval from the then Cabinet to draft a Bill. Where is it? As I said, this is a serious issue. In 2022, we will have been waiting four years for this legislation. With the lifting of Covid restrictions, we will see an increase in tourists. Operators who were previously licensed want horse-drawn carriages to be covered by a system under which they must be registered and display licensing plates, insurance discs and so on. Will the Minister of State give a clear indication as to when legislation to deal with this matter will be introduced because Dublin City Council needs to be able to move now to introduce the by-laws that are needed?

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