Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for coming in. He has a very busy schedule and he did not receive much notice about this matter. I am therefore delighted he is here today. I also welcome Martin Plummer, the chairman of the National Chauffeur Drivers Association and Mick Devine and his son, Shane Devine, who are members of the association and who are in the Visitors Gallery. I ask the Minister to seriously consider their situation.

The National Chauffeur Drivers Association is an independent and non-profit organisation representing the chauffeur-drive industry in Ireland. The association comprises more than 120 chauffeur-drive companies nationwide with members operating more than 400 high-end vehicles. They perform an ambassadorial role for Ireland because they meet business people as well as representatives of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and tourism interests coming to Ireland. They present a very positive side of Ireland, its people and its culture. I congratulate Mick Devine on receiving an international award for his work in that regard. He has driven luminaries such as Bruce Springsteen and others who are great ambassadors for Ireland. Regular clients include guests of the Government, trade delegations, diplomats and leading business executives. The NCDA also has strong links with many important groups in the commercial and tourism sectors. Its members are regularly called on by the Government, Departments and leading businesses to service visitors in a professional, positive and welcoming manner. I was a guest in Taiwan and the airline, Emirates, provided chauffeur driven cars to collect clients at Dublin Airport to fly on to the Middle East and onwards to Taiwan and elsewhere. They are providing great employment opportunities. On the way back from the airport we were stopped by a member of the Garda Síochána who reminded the driver that he could go only certain ways as we drove down O'Connell Street. He was not in the bus lane.

That is the background. I could not believe that people performing such a service, working for airlines on tight schedules cannot use empty bus lines going to the airport. They are dealing with prominent business people coming here with the major international companies. Nine of the ten largest companies in the world are here, including Google, and they require speedy access to business meetings with Ministers, the Government and business contacts.

After the Minister makes his point, I will present the document to him but I do not have time to outline all of the points today. In summary, the Minister is a progressive Minister, which everybody accepts. When the late Seamus Brennan was Minister, he was on the verge of granting the concession to paid-up members who paid the full fees. In this modern Ireland, they should be granted this concession to drive in bus lanes when appropriate. They would not necessarily use them on every occasion but when required and it is an option they should have at their disposal.

I would like the Minister to take up the case. He has other issues on his desk, including Aer Lingus, and while this may not be a priority it is a priority for members who came here to listen to the words of the Minister. We hope they will get some encouragement in this regard.

There are no objections from other organisations in this regard. This is a niche market providing great employment opportunities and those involved are great ambassadors in my experience. I was driven by two of the members from the airport when going out and coming back to Taiwan and their manner was positive as far as Ireland is concerned. In this regard, I would appreciated the Minister considering their case for using bus lanes.