Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 9, before section 10, to insert the following new section:

10.(1) The Minister shall establish a register of accessible vehicles.

(2) Every State funded hospital and school requiring the use of an accessible vehicle, shall in the first instance seek the availability of a vehicle on the Register maintained in subsection (1).".

The amendment requires the establishment of a register of accessible vehicles and the guarantee of a certain amount of work for people who have gone to the bother of having their taxis converted, at huge cost, to being wheelchair friendly, through school runs or transporting patients to hospitals.

I have spoken to some taxi drivers who, in hindsight, regret having converted their taxis, because they have not got the thanks they deserve for doing so, nor have they made money from the conversion. On a typical day a passenger waiting to be picked up will more than likely opt for the non-wheelchair friendly taxi. That may be because they are afraid of using a taxi which might be needed by somebody with a wheelchair. One way of getting around this difficulty would be to guarantee people who convert their taxis that they would get some work from the State. This is worth looking at and has been done in other countries.