Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome his clarification that the anomaly exists that those cars under section 31(2) will be older and yet we will be asking newer cars to come off the road. It is an anomaly. It is a very significant purchase for many taxi drivers. The Minister of State finished his contribution by saying that it was done for the uncertainty that exists in the market. There is always going to be uncertainty around supply and around the delivery of new vehicles. As we move into an era where e-cars are available, I am not certain whether forcing people to change their cars more frequently where perhaps components of the car may need to be changed is the best environmental approach either. Will the Minister of State reflect on that and perhaps raise it with the NTA specifically?

On the broader point I raised on the interaction which we have with the industry, will the Minister of State consider how we might better interact with the industry? That might start initially with some exploratory meetings with those representative bodies. I know the Minister of State is always willing to meet people. I hope we could start a conversation with these bodies about how we can better engage with them. One example that has been raised and has causes great frustration is the whole issue of transferability, so that when somebody passes away, his or her licence can be transferred to another family member or to a third party. However, if somebody is sick for a very long period of time, or incapacitated, he or she is not able to do that. Such people then are forced to license it out or lease it out and the person who is often caring for that sick person ends up also being involved in all these business transactions in which they do not want to be involved at all. There are many different small issues that frustrate many people in the industry and which discourage people from entering it. I believe taxis are a key part of the public transport network and I ask the Minister of State to do everything he can to try to work with the stakeholders and to see how customers and taxi drivers can get a better deal.

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