Mary Henry (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Roche. I also welcome the Bill.

I was one of those who was not very critical of the way in which the then Minister of State, Mr. Molloy, introduced taxi deregulation. As I live within a mile and a half of the city centre, I tend to walk or take public transport. If the need arises, I take a taxi when I go in or out of the city. Before deregulation it was almost impossible to get a taxi. The difficulty was so great at the time that this was probably the only option open to the then Minister of State in the circumstances. At least nowadays it is possible to get a taxi, and do so fairly easily.

I agree with many of the concerns expressed by other speakers, particularly in respect to the careful assessment required for taxi drivers. Checks need to be made in regard to criminal records held by individuals wishing to become taxi drivers. I was involved in the X case and was horrified when I discovered that the man involved was a taxi driver—