Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 June 2004
219 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Transport if he has satisfied himself with the operation of the taxi hardship payments scheme; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that payments will not be made in cases in which no loan was obtained to purchase a taxi licence plate; the person who imposed this condition; the reason for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18349/04]
View answerThe taxi hardship payments scheme is based on the recommendations and parameters set out in the taxi hardship panel report, as approved by Government. The taxi hardship panel was an 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 licensing regime. The panel received and considered over 2,000 written submissions.
The report of the panel 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 arising from taxi liberalisation. The payments range from €3,000 to €15,000 depending on the category of hardship involved.
The only category in which the panel recommended hardship payments related to loans was category five which concerns large loan repayments outstanding on loans obtained to purchase a taxi licence and secured against a family home.
Area Development Management Limited, ADM, has been engaged to administer and manage the implementation of the taxi hardship payments scheme and I am satisfied that it is operating the scheme in line with the recommendations of the taxi hardship panel report and the general and specific requirements for each category as outlined in the application form, which was the subject of consultation with taxi industry representatives.
