Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The amendments deal with the issues referred to by the Senator in the rental market. The market needs to change. Members will have watched the television programmes and read newspaper articles about the way in which the rental market developed willy nilly. A licence holder could rent out his or her plate and the person driving the car did not have to ensure standards were maintained. A full package will be put in place under the legislation for those operating in the rental market. There is a requirement for such a market for many different reasons but standards must be maintained by those renting vehicles under these provisions. For instance, they will not only rent out the car but they will be responsible for the insurance, signage and equipment in the car. That is the background to this and we want to ensure a standard is maintained into the future. Many of the organisations that made submissions to the review committee put this issue at the top of the agenda. This also drifts into the area of legal requirements.