Seán Ardagh
Question:407 Mr. Ardagh asked the Minister for Transport the action he will take regarding the recommendations of the European petitions committee regarding taxi hardship cases. [22936/03]
Written Answers. - Taxi Deregulation.
Joan Burton
Question:420 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Transport the situation regarding the regulation of taxis and the compensation scheme established for hardship cases as a consequence of the deregulation of the taxi industry. [23228/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 407 and 420 together.
The Government has approved the implementation on a phased basis of the recommendations of the taxi hardship panel which was the independent three person panel established to report in general terms on the nature and extent of extreme personal financial hardship that may have been experienced by individual taxi licence holders arising from loss of income as a direct result of the liberalisation of the taxi market. The report of the taxi hardship panel recommends 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 arising from taxi liberalisation. Any payments to be made on foot of these recommendations will not represent compensation but rather compassionate payments in respect of extreme personal financial hardship.
I am aware of the report of the EU Committee on Petitions regarding its fact-finding mission to Ireland in connection with the effects of taxi liberalisation. I met with the delegation from the committee on 4 April 2003 and outlined the background to taxi liberalisation and the establishment of the taxi hardship panel to it. I also explained that based on legal precedent there can be no legal duty on the State to compensate taxi licence holders in relation to open market licence values that may have existed prior to liberalisation. This position remains unchanged and I have no proposals for any payments beyond the recommendations of the panel report.
Area Development Management Limited, ADM, has been engaged to administer and manage a scheme to implement the recommendations of the taxi hardship panel report.