Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On Second Stage, I asked the Minister of State to consider employing more people in the regulatory authority to inspect taxi licences. We debated a Private Member's motion last Wednesday and, today, we voted on a Fianna Fáil amendment to the Order of Business regarding the Garda. Gardaí have more to do than checking or issuing taxi licences. In this smart age, the authority can get information from the Garda on someone's record when determining whether to licence that person. I ask Senator Barrett not to press the matter. We have debated the Garda enough. A better use of Garda time would be patrolling, overseeing road traffic and so on to ensure taxi drivers were not breaking the law under the Road Traffic Acts, not inspecting and issuing licences.