Vol. 567 No. 2
129 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Transport if he will stop the issue of new taxi licences until such time as a statutory regulator is appointed in view of the public concerns regarding the safety of taxis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13669/03]
The position in relation to the application of restrictions to the availability of taxi licences was established in an October 2000 decision of the High Court which established the legal position that quantitative limitation of taxi licences in the interests of existing taxi licence holders cannot be sustained. In compliance with that decision, in November 2000, regulations were made which liberalised entry to the taxi market and removed all regulatory provisions involving quantitative restrictions on the licensing of taxis.
The imposition of a general moratorium on the availability of taxi licences can not be contemplated having regard to the terms and focus of that High Court decision.
It should be noted that the same vehicle and driver standards continue to apply to new taxi licence applicants and drivers of taxis as applied to applicants prior to November 2000. While there were restrictions on the number of small public service vehicles prior to November 2000, there have never been any quantitative restrictions on the granting of licences to drive such vehicles. All applicants for such licences are vetted by the Garda for the purpose of establishing if applicants are fit and proper persons to hold such licences.
