Vol. 538 No. 4
96 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the measures he is taking to improve the level and quality of service provided by the taxi industry in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18193/01]
The Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 2000, established a revised basis for taxi licensing and introduced a range of qualitative improvements including annual testing of small public service vehicles to facilitate the annual renewal of licences. The new regulations do not place or authorise any restriction on the numbers of new taxi licences which shall be granted by local licensing authorities. This is already bringing significant benefits to service users, more than doubling the Dublin taxi fleet, and I anticipate that the benefits will further accumulate as new service providers are fully mobilised.
I have indicated that it is my intention that the process of making all taxis wheelchair accessible will commence by end 2003. It is also my intention to consult extensively with representatives of consumer groups, of disabled persons and of taxi service providers to develop further quality improvements for taxi services for the benefit of both the service providers and the general public alike in the medium term. A definitive timescale for this consultation process has not been fixed, but my Department will finalise a consultation document in the near future.
