Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 76:

In page 13, lines 26 and 27, to delete paragraph (p).

The purpose of this amendment is to delete paragraph (p), which alludes to the fees licensed instructors may charge for courses of instruction. It is very restrictive to legislate for the fee one can charge because there are different standards and levels of driving instruction. I hope all instructors will be teaching the same skills but some driving schools will have single operators while others will operate on a national basis. Some will feel they must charge more than others because they believe they are operating to a higher standard.

The Minister of State should accept my amendment because the requirement that all instructors must charge the same fee, as implied in the existing provision, is anti-competitive. Some operators will feel they are better than others and therefore entitled to charge more. Others may believe they should be charging much less and therefore it is anti-competitive also. I ask the Minister of State to accept the amendment.