Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Apr 1996

Vol. 463 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - Public Service Vehicle Licensing.

I am glad to see that my constituency colleague is present to allay any fears I may have about this issue. A debate on the criteria for issuing public service vehicle licences may appear to be obscure and an unwarranted imposition on the time of this House but it is not.

A situation has developed in Cork City which is perhaps unique but I believe the rest of the country will experience it in due course. There are a mixture of taxis and hackney cabs operating in Cork City and the system has worked extremely well during the past five years. Approximately 400 to 600 hackney cabs service the city at any time which makes for a unique and excellent public transport service. However, a peculiar situation has been brought to my attention by constituents who expressed shock when they realised it was nothing new. They inquired with regard to why something is not being done and why the law and the criteria for issuing of public service vehicle licences remain unchanged.

This situation relates mainly to men — although increasing numbers of women are becoming involved in operating hackney cabs — who apply for public service vehicle licences which cost a relatively small amount. They apply at the age of 40 to 50 years, by which time the hackney industry is virtually the only area in which they can obtain worthwhile employment. They are people of good character, upright citizens and family men who, in the main, have never had a brush with the law during the past 20 to 30 years.

I have been approached by people who were refused public service vehicle licences. In one case it emerged that the applicant had been found in possession of a stolen rug 23 years ago. The rug was not from the Shah of Iran's palace but was something that a person would throw before their front door or fireplace. The man in question was convicted and fined £2 and 23 years later, following a Garda investigation of his record, he has been debarred from employment as a result. This is disgraceful.

I was approached by another man who was convicted and fined £1 for selling Easter lilies 26 years ago. I sympathised with him because the only reason I was not in a simlar position was that I was quicker than he. The man involved cannot obtain worthwhile employment. He is not a thug or blackguard who beats up elderly people and was never convicted of assault, sexual assault, drunken driving or anything which would lead people to worry about his driving a hackney cab or taxi. For incurring fines of £1 and £2, 26 and 23 years ago respectively, these men are debarred from worthwhile employment.

I am not certain who is responsible for this. The Department of the Environment is responsible for issuing the licences but I do not know who is responsible for investigating legal records. The Minister responsible should change this outrageous condition and place some kind of moratorium regarding offences which people committed in their youth. It must be ensured that people can avail of employment opportunities. We are insisting the people remain dependent on the State because of minor infringements and placing a blight on their characters. I ask the Minister of State to be sympathetic and introduce some worthwhile proposals for which he will have the gratitude of the people of Cork and, eventually, the rest of the country.

In 1995 the Minister made public service vehicle regulations which provide for the licensing and operation of taxis and hackneys. The main thrust of the regulations is the devolution to local authorities of all of the significant functions relating to the licensing of taxis and hackneys.

The primary functions of local authorities, as public service vehicle licensing authorities, are the licensing of taxis, wheelchair accessible taxis and hackneys, including the grant and renewal of all licences; the creation of new taximeter areas and the alteration of the boundaries of existing taximeter areas; the determination of the number of taxis to be licensed in a taximeter area, decisions in relation to the maximum fares which may be charged by taxis and decisions relating to the fees to be paid for all licences. The Minister has also given local authorities the power to decide that no further hackney licences are to be granted in their functional areas and the power to apply conditions to hackney licences granted.

All major policy decisions relating to taxi and hackney licensing are now vested in the elected councillors. These decisions are best made by local representatives who know the area, rather than as heretofore being made centrally by a Minister or Department. The regulations provide that before deciding to authorise the grant of new taxi licences a local authority must engage in a public consultation process to ensure that the views of taxi interest groups and of people using taxi services are taken into account.

Local authorities, under the 1995 regulations, have maximum discretion to decide how to cater for the need for taxi and hackney services in their areas. It is a matter for these authorities to monitor the quality and adequacy of the service being provided in order that they may respond to any outstanding demand for this type of transport service in their areas.

When a new taximeter area is being created, or when additional licences are being issued in an existing taximeter area, it is the responsibility of the licensing authority to determine the optimum number of taxis which should operate in the area. The regulations provide a mechanism for assessing applications for new taxi and wheelchair accessible taxi licences on the basis of a points system. The system favours holders of hackney licences in new taximeter areas, and "cosies" in existing taximeter areas.

The 1995 regulations came into effect last September. The Minister made those regulations following consideration of the report of an interdepartmental committee, examination of the response to that report from local authorities, interest groups and the general public, and discussions with representatives of the various interest groups. It is now a matter for local authorities concerned to apply the regulations as they deem appropriate in their areas.

The Minister has no proposals to amend the regulations at this early stage. He intends to review the position in the light of experience of the operation of the regulations but it would not be right to initiate such a review until at least one year after the commencement of the new system. I will bring the views and opinions of Deputy Lynch to the Minister's attention. Some of the examples she provided must be dealt with in a common sense manner.

Top
Share