Gay Mitchell
Question:172 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Transport if he will examine the case of persons (details supplied) in Dublin 12 to determine if they will be covered by the taxi hardship fund. [22567/03]
Written Answers. - Taxi Hardship Panel.
The Government has approved the implementation, on a phased basis, of the recommendations of the Taxi Hardship Panel, which recommended the establishment of a scheme to provide payments to individual taxi licence holders who fall into one of six categories that the panel assessed as having suffered extreme personal financial hardship from taxi liberalisation. Category five of the panel report refers to circumstances where large loan repayments are outstanding and have been secured against a family home.
Area Development Management Limited, ADM, has been engaged to administer and manage a scheme to implement the recommendations of the Taxi Hardship Panel report. My Department is making arrangements with ADM to facilitate an application process and payment scheme on the basis of the panel recommendations and I expect that these arrangements will be finalised in the near future with a view to commencing payments to qualifying persons before the end of 2003.
It will be open to persons who held a taxi licence on 21 November 2000 to make an application to ADM, in due course, under the taxi hardship payments scheme and these applications will be processed and assessed having regard to the eligibility criteria and specific requirements associated with each category of hardship in accordance with the Taxi Hardship Panel report.