asked the Minister for the Environment if here are limitations on the number of taxi licences available in our major cities; and if so, if he will outline the legal, social and economic justification for such limitations.
Written Answers. - Taxi Licences.
148.
Under the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 as amended, areas radiating for a certain distance from the centres of the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway have been designated as taximeter areas. While the granting of taxi licences is a matter for the Garda Commissioner, the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Licensing) Regulations, 1978, as amended, provide that in each taximeter area the county borough corporation concerned shall from time to time by resolution determine the number of new taxilicences which may be granted by him in respect of the use of vehicles as taxis in that taximeter area. The provisions relating to the determination of licence numbers also apply to the granting of licences in respect of the use of vehicles as public hire vehicles in the County Borough of Waterford as well as certain other urban area.
Following consultation with the Garda, local authorities, taxi operators, tourism and consumer interests etc., my Department issued guidelines to local authorities in December 1978 concerning the determination of the numbers of licences. These guidelines referred to matters such as the number of existing licensed taxis in the taximeter area, the number of private hire vehicles available in the area, the extent of the taximeter area and its population (including projected growth), views of the general public and tourism or other interested parties, the availability of other forms of public transport and the level of service available both generally and at particular periods (for example tourist season, during festivals, local functions, etc.). The local authorities were also advised at that time that the guidelines did not preclude them from taking other matters into consideration in discharging their statutory functions.