A late-night extension of DART services in Dublin was demanded by the Fine Gael leader.
Mr John Bruton said Dublin had the earliest closing of any public transport system in any city in Europe. "The last DART leaves Dublin before the last pint is pulled," he said.
The DART was one of the most expensive pieces of capital equipment ever installed in the State. "It is scandalous that for seven hours, from 11.20 at night to 6.30 in the morning, this capital facility is not being used at all, even though there are large numbers of people who want to use it to get home safely."
In a city seeking to attract tourists, and where tourists had to get accommodation in the suburbs, it was a disgrace that the trains were not running later at night.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said that while there were continuing discussions about extending the DART services, it was not just a question of giving a directive on the matter, because there were industrial relations issues involved.
He said the main reason why the DART staff was reluctant to have services running later last year related to law and order.
Mr Bruton asked if consideration had been given to employing extra security on late-night DART services, and, if necessary, charging higher fares to covering the additional cost involved.
The Taoiseach said he understood that such matters formed part of the continuing discussion about extending the time of the services.
Mr Ahern said the recommendation by the joint committee of the four local authorities had recommended 820 new taxi licences on Monday. This was very much in line with the taxi forum report.
Mr Sean Barrett (FG, Dun Laoghaire) said that not alone was the availability of taxis a problem but the cost was also creating difficulties for young people and those on low incomes.
It was destroying their opportunity for a social occasion. Therefore, the availability of public transport late at night was important to a large section of the community.