Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

We should be honest with each other. We all want to make effective use of our time here. We make a difference by being Members of this House, as do Members of the Dáil. I welcome the views and help offered by various Senators on the Opposition benches and we will continue to work with them as closely as is possible in this regard.

Senator Regan called for a debate on waste of funds in organisationsand I have no difficulty in arranging for such a debate. Senator Carty and Cummins condemned the bombing in Derry and complimented the PSNI on the serious and difficult work it is doing in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland and in the interests of maintaining peace. I, too, was uplifted by the visit of the former president, Bill Clinton, to the north of Ireland last week and I look forward to attending an event in Newcastle tomorrow with parliamentarians from the Assembly and from Dáil and Seanad Éireann to work in co-operation in the best interests of the people of the island of Ireland.

Senators Quinn and Harris raised the issue of the major difficulties being experienced by those in the taxi industry. I can give a commitment to the House now that I will endeavour to have a debate on this matter take place within the next two weeks. Taxi drivers are under siege in their fight for survival. The money they are earning currently is embarrassing. It is an insult to any person in the industry to be just trying to survive, sitting in a car 14 or 15 hours a day, for the small income he or she earns at present. We all know that too many licences were granted and we have to do something about this. It is an issue for the local authorities and should left to be dealt with in the areas as far as I am concerned. This matter must be addressed.