Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020
248. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will instruct the National Transport Authority to establish a dedicated Covid-19 response unit for the taxi sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20222/20]
View answer288. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a Covid-19 response for taxis will be provided within the NTA. [20957/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 288 together.
I recognise that from the onset of the Covid-19 Emergency and the introduction of restrictions as part of the necessary public health response, passenger demand for taxis and other small public service vehicle (SPSV) services fell considerably and many operators stopped working.
In recognition of the challenges facing businesses, the Government put in place a range of measures to assist businesses during the current Covid-19 pandemic, including the Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme, the Covid-19 Restart Grant, and a waiver of commercial rates. Self-employed owner operators of SPSVs may also avail of the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
Over the past few months, the National Transport Authority (NTA), which is the body under the aegis of my Department with statutory responsibility for regulating the SPSV sector, has undertaken a number of measures to assist operators in the industry including waivers, facilitating temporary licence suspensions, interaction with the Insurance industry, and providing guidance to operators on cleaning and other ways to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19.
At the present time, while the financial supports mentioned continue to be available, the focus now is on assisting those who have stopped working to get back to work as the economy reopens and passenger demand for SPSVs returns. My Department is in regular contact with the NTA to monitor the impact that the reopening of the economy in line with the Government's Roadmap to Reopening Society and Business is having on demand for SPSV services and to ensure that SPSV operators who have temporarily stopped working are well placed to return to work. There is no reason to believe that this work would benefit from the creation of new structures within the NTA and therefore there are no plans at present to ask for the creation of such structures.
