The regulation of the taxi industry, including issues relating to regulations about the transferability of small public service vehicles (SPSVs), is a matter in the first instance for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the Taxi Regulation Act, 2003. I have arranged for your question to be forwarded to the NTA for a direct response. If you do not receive a response within ten working days, please notify my private office.
The position in regard to the current transferability arrangements for taxi vehicle licences was examined during the recent review of the taxi industry that I chaired. The Taxi Regulation Review Report which was published last month, proposes the introduction of a prohibition on the transferability of taxi vehicle licences such that after 1st October 2012 all taxi vehicle licences will be unique to the person to whom the licence has been issued and cannot be transferred or sold to another individual. The full text of the Taxi Regulation Review Report can be accessed on my Department's website.