Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Recently, the issue of rural transport has been in the news, as well as drink driving and many other aspects. A lot of has been done with the rural transport initiative. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, and Deputy Robert Troy have hit upon a unique idea of an Uber-style rural taxi service or, as the Minister of State called it, a "Ruxi". In Dublin, we have excellent taxis and they are good value. In London, I have shared an Uber taxi with another person and I shall explain how it works. A 30-minute journey in an Uber taxi costs between €5 to €7, there is a pool of Uber taxis, customers are given an estimated price, two people can share a taxi, and customers must pay their fare using an App so no money exchanges hands.

An Uber taxi, which is a privately owned car, can transport ten or 15 people as part of the one journey thereby giving value for money. Uber taxis are the way forward. I understand why the taxi drivers in Dublin would oppose an Uber-type taxi, whereby private car drivers rent space in their vehicles. Uber taxis are a solution for the transport woes in rural communities. Uber taxis are now available all over the world and they are available in hundreds of cities in Europe and North America. The availability of Uber taxis is a way to solve our transport problems.

On 19 January, I attended a course in self-driving cars that took place at the Institute of Technology, Sligo. The availability of self-driving cars will mean nobody would have to worry about drink driving because these cars can transport a person from A to B. I compliment the institute on its fascinating work with the University of Applied Sciences in Kempten, Germany. The institute of technology has an innovative approach to online learning because almost half of its 6,000 students now study online. I believe that self-driving cars are the way forward and it is nice to see that a small town located on the west coast of Ireland is at the forefront of such modern technology. In years to come people will be able to throw away their breathalysers because we will have self-driving cars. In the meantime, Uber is the way forward. I do not know why the initiative does not exist in this country because it would be one way to address the taxi shortage, particularly in rural areas. In addition, the initiative makes great sense and is great value.