I want to raise an issue that I feel is having a very detrimental and suffocating effect on rural Ireland. This is the declining number of taxis available. It is so bad now that it is causing an economic bottleneck and, in my opinion, is also acting as a social barrier. The figures from the NTA released last May paint a very bleak picture in that 20 counties are seeing a decline in taxi numbers. This is despite the fact that over the past ten years our population has increased by more than 8%. The Border region is particularly badly affected, with taxi numbers down a staggering 20%. My county of Monaghan has seen a decline of 31.29%, which is the worst in all of Ireland. Cavan has seen a drop of 19%, Donegal has seen a drop of 21% and Louth has seen a drop of 16% or 17%. This clearly shows we have a serious problem in this regard.

This is killing the night-time economy especially. People would like to go out and socialise, which we would like to see, and go out for a bite to eat or a few drinks or whatever. It is important that we encourage this type of behaviour. The reality for many people thinking about going into the town or the village this evening is that they would have no way home so they make the decision not to go out at all. This is not what we want to see in rural Ireland. I call on the NTA to address this particular issue because it is affecting the people of rural Ireland very much. We cannot allow this decline to continue in our rural counties. I call on the NTA to address this matter urgently.

I join others in thanking all of the staff in the campus of Leinster House for their hospitality and the manner in which they look after us all year in, year out. I say to all of my colleagues in the Chamber that I enjoy their company, perhaps not all of the time but most of the time I am glad to say. I wish them all a very enjoyable rest during the summer period.

There was a lot of negativity in that. We are only allowed the positive today.

The sun is shining.