On 21 November 2000, the taxi industry was deregulated overnight. Since then hundreds of families have suffered considerable financial loss and many are experiencing significant personal financial hardship. These are the facts of life for them today. Since then they have lobbied to have their plight recognised and adequate compensation awarded to them. To date they have been literally ignored, disregarded and treated with contempt by a Government whose decision to deregulate the industry was a politically motivated quick fix that failed to acknowledge the problems that would arise from such a short-sighted approach.
Overnight, the value of a taxi licence dropped from approximately €100,000 to about €6,500. No system was put in place to provide for those who were obliged to mortgage their homes and the future of their families to secure employment. An unsuccessful applicant in 1999 was told that if he wanted a taxi licence his only option was to purchase an existing one. It cost £77,000 and £3,000 was paid to Dublin Corporation to transfer the licence at the time.
Despite the best efforts of many of the genuine, hard-working taxi drivers, the industry has deteriorated since deregulation. While the number of taxi plates has increased nearly threefold to 10,000 in the Dublin region, the morale of workers in the industry has dropped. Many of the new part-time taxi drivers only venture out at the weekend. Drivers who remortgaged their homes are obliged to work 12 to 14 hours a day, six days a week to exist and pay their mortgages. This is having a drastic effect on family life.
The group entitled FAIR, Families Advocate Immediate Redress, brought its case to the European Union. The EU committee on petitions appointed a fact-finding delegation, which visited Ireland and made recommendations. The committee's report stated that without questioning the right of the Government to deregulate, it is clear that the original hasty decision was not a clearly thought-out response to the problems which existed in the industry. Further, the delegation was of the view that individual rights had not been fully recognised in dealing with the matter and were critical of the delay in resolving the individual cases of hardship.
Some 30 months have passed since deregulation and there is still no progress to report. This is an utter scandal. The EU delegation recommended that the proposals of the taxi hardship panel should be reviewed by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and by the Minister for Transport in light of the findings of the report and that new proposals should be made to the Government.
What has the Minister done to date? He gave a commitment to the delegation that he would meet the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport to discuss proposals from the taxi hardship panel with a view to making new proposals to the Government on the levels of compensation. Thus far, he has failed to do so and all the indications are that he intends to renege on his promise.
To date, the proposed taxi regulator has to be appointed and the relevant legislation will not be in place prior to the summer recess. Were the legislation to be published, that, at the very least, would represent some progress. When can the families who have suffered as a result of deregulation expect to receive adequate redress? They include families that borrowed large sums of money to buy into a Government-regulated industry in recent years, widows, drivers approaching retirement, the sick and the infirm.
Some Fianna Fáil TDs and councillors conned taxi drivers over the years. The least they could do now is ensure there is a commitment by the Minister to bring this issue to a satisfactory conclusion. The current situation is untenable and if the Minister is not prepared to meet the rightful demands as acknowledged by the EU petitions committee's report, we could well see the membership of FAIR having to take to the streets again to obtain a satisfactory outcome to their case. The Government has a political and moral responsibility to address this matter.
