I wish to share some of my time with Deputy Shatter. Perhaps the Leas-Cheann Comhairle would indicate when I have spoken for about three minutes.
Adjournment Debate. - Dublin Taxi Services.
I thank the Minister of State for attending and I am pleased he recognises the importance of this issue. It is with great sadness that I find myself speaking yet again on the lack of taxis and of public transport generally. I speak against a background where two families in my constituency have got the call in the middle of the night that every parent dreads, informing them that their sons have been killed on the streets of their capital city.
I am more than sad. I am outraged that this is happening to our children and that, despite all our prosperity and success and the Celtic tiger of which we speak, the State is not offering protec tion to our children and cannot provide them with a public transport system. This outrage is felt by every parent in Dublin. There is a deep and palpable sense of anger that the Government is unwilling or unable to recognise or come to grips with providing something even as straightforward and as basic as a taxi service for the capital city.
The public is asking what it takes to get the Government to focus on the transport problem for any longer than it takes to hold a press conference to announce yet another transport plan. These are plans that do not and cannot go anywhere because they are cancelled and replaced within a few months. People ask what level of daytime congestion it takes for the Government to take notice of what is happening to Dublin and Dubliners and to their quality of life. They also ask what level of night-time violence and how many distraught families, broken teeth and traumatised young people it takes.
The Minister of State has not listened to me in the past but if he will not listen to me now, will he listen to the concerns of the public expressed with the type of fury, frustration and anger that I have never witnessed before?
The relevant Ministers with responsibility for transport must be receiving the same angry calls I have received, must be reading the newspapers, must see the campaigns being launched – I refer to that run by the Evening Herald– and must have listened to radio 'phone-ins.
The Government cannot back away from claiming responsibility and state that there are no short-term solutions. There are short-term solutions which can and must be implemented. When I first raised the need for increased taxi numbers some years ago, the Taoiseach's contribution was to postpone any increase for almost a year while he established a forum to obtain a consensus in the taxi industry. Whose interests was he serving, those of the industry or those of the public?
When we finally circumvented that barrier and began issuing a few new licences the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, blundered in with an extraordinary quick-fix gimmick which, had he bothered to consult anyone who had examined the workings of the industry, he would have been told was doomed to failure. Far from doubling the number of taxis, he succeeded in stopping any new plates being issued and did nothing for 12 months as if this matter, which continues to wind its way through the courts, was of little consequence to the people of Dublin.
I plead with the Minister of State to do whatever it takes to extricate himself from this cul de sac of legal action he has created. It is for him to decide whether that requires returning to the planned phased release of licences or withdrawing all existing licences and wiping the slate clean, compensating licence holders and starting afresh with a more rational system. However, it is certain that he cannot continue to behave as if he was helpless and as if all of this had nothing to do with him.
Neither more taxis nor more buses will end violence on our streets, but they might save somebody's son or daughter. Where are the buses? Why is the Minister for Public Enterprise, Deputy O'Rourke, absent? Has she no sense of the anger and outrage that is abroad at present? Why has she not placed an advertisement in today's newspapers seeking tenders for late night services?
I hope the Minister of State has gained some sense of the anger I feel. That anger is felt by parents who are annoyed by the Government's ineptitude and its apparent indifference. These people want action on transport and safer streets for our children.
I must inform Deputy Shatter that there are only 30 seconds remaining. However, with the agreement of the House I will allow the Deputy to have two minutes to make his contribution. Is that agreed? Agreed.
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
David Keating is the third young man to die on the streets of Dublin within six weeks as a result of a violent attack. Dublin streets late at night, into the small hours of the morning, have become a war zone in which the lives of those who walk through them are at risk. Gratuitous violence seems to have become the rule rather than the exception.
The Keating family is the second family in my constituency, which is also that of Deputy Olivia Mitchell, to suffer the mind-numbing bereavement of having a young son killed on the streets of Dublin. A few short weeks ago, Brian Murphy lost his life outside the Burlington Hotel. Young people are entitled to enjoy a social life in Dublin and doing so should not place their lives at risk.
It is now clear that David Keating and his friends were forced to walk because of a scarcity of taxis and the inadequacy of our public transport system. It is clear, that far too many young people returning late at night from social events in Dublin have no choice but to walk home in the small hours of the morning. Tragically, it is also clear that the Government has failed totally to come to grips with the unacceptable level of violence on the streets of Dublin and to take the action necessary to make our streets safe. It is the nightmare of every parent in Dublin that their son or daughter could be the next victim.
I support the call of my constituency colleague, Deputy Mitchell, for the Government, once and for all, to tackle effectively the scandalous shortage of taxis and also to ensure that we have a much improved public transport service for young people returning late at night from social events in the city centre. I also call on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to guarantee a far greater and more visible Garda presence on our streets.
Everyone on this side of the House shares the outrage to which Deputy Mitchell referred. It is outrageous, scandalous and disgraceful that three young men have lost their lives in Dublin city when returning home from social events on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday evening. It is unacceptable that the Government is finding it utterly impossible to put in place effective transport systems and to provide Garda patrols in order to guarantee that young people can travel home safely.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue tonight. The availability of late night transport in Dublin is a matter of concern for the Government. It is clear that taxis form only one part – albeit the most flexible part – of the overall public transport system in Dublin. I will deal with the taxi issue in a moment but I must first state that over the next few weeks, Bus Átha Cliath will announce plans for an enhanced late night service which will be introduced before Christmas and will continue into the New Year. It is also intended to provide late night DART services on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for three weeks before Christmas. with the last DART departing the city centre at 1.30 a.m.
The revised Action Programme for the Millennium, published in November 1999, made an explicit commitment to improving the Dublin taxi service through the introduction of measures to increase the number of taxi licences in Dublin in order to ensure a proper balance between supply and demand in the market. While acknowledging improvements in the Dublin taxi services brought about by the Dublin local authorities, with some 750 additional wheelchair accessible taxi licences issued between 1997 and the end of 1999, the Government held the view that a more accelerated approach to matching supply and demand was needed, particularly in the fight of current strong economic growth.
On 30 November 1999 the Government decided to provide for the early grant of a substantial number of new taxi licences in the Dublin taximeter area, to be apportioned as follows, one new taxi licence would be offered to each individual who held a taxi licence in Dublin at the end of 1999 – it was estimated at that stage that there were approximately 2,600 such individuals – and 500 of these new licences would be granted in respect of wheelchair accessible taxis, and 500 additional taxi licences would be granted to applicants under the current points assessment scheme.
Regulations were made on 13 January 2000 which temporarily assign the determination of new taxi numbers in the Dublin taximeter area to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government and triggered the process whereby all existing licence holders in the Dublin area, known as "qualified persons", could apply for the grant of either a taxi or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence from Dublin Corporation. Fees for the taxi licences were set at £2,500 in the case of ordinary taxi licences and £250 in the case of wheelchair accessible taxi licences.
In accordance with the regulations, individual notices were issued by Dublin Corporation to each licence holder inviting them to apply for either an ordinary taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence and over 2,600 applications were received by the corporation by the closing date of 18 February 2000. The regulations provided for the making of an offer to grant a wheelchair accessible taxi licence to each licence holder who expressed a preference for the grant of such a licence and who complies with the requirements of the regulations. The remaining licences, including those to be offered to applicants under the current assessment system, were to be allocated in accordance with a scheme which has yet to be finalised.
The intention had been that the majority of the taxi licences under the Government initiative would be granted in 2000 to provide a speedy improvement in the level of service to the public. In the event, Deputies will be aware that High Court judicial review proceedings were initiated on 7 February 2000 by a number of individuals in relation to the Government decision and a range of provisions contained in the public service vehicle regulations. The court also granted an interim injunction preventing Dublin Corporation from granting taxi licences pursuant to the regulations pending the determination of the application for judicial review. The matter was heard in the High Court over a period of days between 21 March and 24 May 2000 and further implementation of the Government decision must await the outcome of the court proceedings. In this regard a judgment is expected on Friday next. Members will appreciate that ministerial intervention at this point would not be appropriate.