Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for this important motion but there are many parts of rural Kerry that do not have public transport at all. If we are honest, there is not enough money in the Central Bank to service all of rural County Kerry with public transport because it is so expansive and places are so remote. However, we want people to live there and we want to assist in whatever way we can. There is certainly a problem with hackneys and taxis in rural towns and villages during the week and even at weekends because, if drivers are busy in the likes of Killarney or Kenmare, smaller places like Kilgarvan and other rural places have a problem getting public transport. I honestly believe that taxis and hackneys should be subsidised during the day. There are no taxis or hackneys working during the day in many parts of rural Kerry. We appreciate the Local Link service, which does wonderful work, but it does not catch everyone. In that regard, there should be some scheme to facilitate taxis and hackneys to help rural people do their shopping or other things they need to do to take the monotony out of their lives. When the Government brought in the most recent drink-driving laws, which affected many rural people in many ways, it said that it would find a way to transport them to and from the local pub. However, I am sad that the only place you would see a queue or crowd that has anything to do with drink is at a bottle bank because most drinking is now done at home. You may not be sure of meeting many people in the pub but you will meet them around the bottle bank. That is the effect of the Government's laws. It is now talking about opening pubs or discos later.

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