The scheme is based on the recommendations and parameters set out in the taxi hardship panel report, as approved by Government.
The panel consisted of three independent people and it was established to report in general terms on the nature and extent of extreme personal financial hardship experienced by individual taxi licence holders arising from a loss of income as a direct result of the liberalisation of the taxi licensing regime. It was made clear at the outset that, based on legal precedent, there can be no legal duty on the State to compensate taxi licence holders on open market licence values that may have existed prior to liberalisation.
The report 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. The payments range between €3,000 and €15,000 depending on the category of hardship involved. The Government approved the implementation on a phased basis of these recommendations. The payments do not represent compensation but rather compassionate payments in respect of extreme personal financial hardship.
Area Development Management Limited was engaged to administer and manage the implementation of the scheme, independent of my Department. No details of individual applications made to ADM Limited under the scheme are known to my Department.
After inquiries were made the company informed me that a category 5 hardship payment of €10,000 was made to a person with the name in question. The category refers to particular circumstances where large loan repayments are outstanding and were secured against a family home. The report recommended four specific levels of payment under the category to qualifying persons, ranging between €6,000 and €12,000, depending on the amount of the loan outstanding. The payment made to the person is appropriate to the amount of loan outstanding.
