Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 October 2012
593. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport the measures he is planning to help taxi drivers who have a car older than three years but at present cannot afford to buy a less than three year old car in advance of the ending of transferability of licences in January and will then lose what was a family business such as a person (details supplied). [41292/12]
View answerThe National Transport Authority (NTA) is the lead agency with responsibility for the implementation of the recommended actions contained in the Taxi Regulation Review Report 2011 and makes reports quarterly on implementation to the Taxi Advisory Committee.
Under current regulations, when the ownership of a licence is transferred to another person, it must be associated with a vehicle that is less than three years old at the date of transfer. This condition which promotes the use of newer vehicles in the taxi industry has been in place since the 8th June 2010 and continues to apply to licence transfers in 2012.
Action 14 of the Taxi Regulation Review Report recommended that taxi licences will no longer be allowed to be transferred or sold to another individual. The NTA, as part of wider implementation planning, has confirmed that the current process for transferring an SPSV licence from one party to another will cease at the end of 2012. After that date, all taxi licences, subject to very limited exceptions, will be unique to the person to whom the licence has been issued and cannot be transferred or sold to another individual.
