Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In regard to Senator Sean D. Barrett's amendment, he should take the Minister's words in the spirit in which they were meant in respect of the different circumstances and for different areas of the State. He is trying to provide for regulation of the taxi industry, especially in remote areas, because the cost of a taxi licence and of putting a vehicle on the road will not be a viable proposition in certain parts of rural Ireland, whereas if the Minister of State under this regulation can give somebody a hackney licence to operate his or her own vehicle or a specially adapted vehicle, at least it gives rural areas a chance of being independent, thereby enabling especially elderly people to go to the shops, rural pubs or the church. He must accept the spirit of the Minister of State's opposition to the amendment. I ask the Senator to withdraw amendment No. 9, which seeks the deletion of paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (4). The Minister of State has stated the reasons these paragraphs are included in the Bill. While the matter can be discussed again on Report Stage, it is important not to have a vote on it now.