Brian O'Shea
Question:293 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 710, of 30 January 2002, he will advise of developments since that date. [6480/02]
Written Answers. - Taxi Services.
Richard Bruton
Question:300 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the mem bership of the panel which he has appointed to receive applications for compensation for the hardship caused by the deregulation of taxis; and if he has given guidance in writing or orally as to the criteria for compensation or the financial limits within which they are to operate. [6745/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 293 and 300 together.
On 8 February 2002 I announced the Government's decision to approve the appointment of a panel of three independent persons to report in general terms on the nature and extent of extreme personal financial hardship which may have been experienced by individual taxi licence holders arising from loss of income as a direct result of the liberalisation of entry to the taxi industry on 21 November 2000.
Appointments to the panel have recently been confirmed and consist of Mr. Kevin Bonner, Mr. Bill Attley and Ms Ann Riordan. The panel has been asked to report in general terms on the nature and extent of extreme personal financial hardship experienced by individual taxi licence holders arising from loss of income as a direct result of the liberalisation of the taxi licensing regime on 21 November 2000, including an estimate of the numbers of individual licence holders involved, the likely financial implications and the recommended criteria for assessment of extreme personal financial hardship under any subsequent proposed response by Government. The report of the findings of the panel will then be presented to Government. The Government initiative is in response to the continued claims that certain taxi licence holders have suffered extreme personal financial hardship following the November 2000 changes which may not have been fully addressed by the mitigation measures already put in place.
Persons who held a taxi or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence at 21 November 2000 who consider that they have suffered extreme personal financial hardship arising from taxi liberalisation may now make submissions to the panel, including an indication as to how their claim of hardship can be substantiated. It is open to each individual taxi licence holder to make his or her own submission directly to the panel and the closing date for submissions is 19 April 2002.
I must again stress, however, that the courts have clarified on a number of occasions since 1992 that there can be no legal duty on the State to compensate taxi licence holders in relation to the secondary market values of licences and there is no question of payments being made to the holders of taxi licences for any perceived loss of value arising from liberalisation.
Since the announcement of the establishment of the panel, advertisements inviting submissions have been placed in the national newspapers and officials of my Department have also met representatives of taxi groups and FAIR to inform them of the initiative.