The regulation of the taxi industry is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Public Transport Regulation Act, 2009. The NTA is also the lead agency with responsibility for the implementation of the recommendations of the Taxi Regulation Review Report 2011.
Action 16 of the Taxi Regulation Review Report recommended a reduction in the period during which an "inactive" Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) licence may be reactivated from the current five year period to one year.
The Taxi Regulation Act 2013, which gives legal effect to many of the recommendations of the Review Report was signed into law on the 23rd of October 2013. The NTA has prepared draft SPSV regulations under the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 that will introduce new measures provided for under the Act, as well as consolidating and replacing the existing regulations. The draft regulations, including provisions reducing the period for reactivation of expired SPSV licences to twelve months after the date of expiry of the licence, were the subject of a publication consultation process that concluded on 31st January 2014.
It is expected that the new regulations will be introduced in tandem with the commencement of the Act in early April 2014.