Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 October 2012
313. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if provision will be made to allow for an exception to the three-year rule in relation to the transfer of taxi licences in the case of a transfer between persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45211/12]
View answerUnder 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 in 2011 proposes that a taxi licence will no longer be allowed to be transferred or sold to another individual but will be unique to the person to whom it was issued. This is in line with the considered view of the Taxi Review Group that a licence should determine a person's suitability to carry out a function and it should not have monetary value in itself or be traded on the open market.
The 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.
I understand that the NTA has given notice to the industry concerning the introduction of the prohibition on transferring an SPSV licence from January 2013 and that the NTA is still considering whether or not, after 2013, the continuation of a taxi business by the next-of-kin can be facilitated following the death of a licence holder.
