Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2023
182. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Transport his plans to address the anomaly whereby cars purchased for use as a taxi prior to 2010 can continue to be used, whereas cars purchased from 2012 onwards cannot continue to be used due to the ten-year rule; if he plans to introduce a 15-year limit for all vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42113/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including vehicle age limits for SPSVs, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016. I have no role in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV industry.Since August last year, a series of global circumstances has, in the NTA’s view, considerably worsened the capability of taxi and hackney licence holders to secure new vehicles. Therefore, the NTA proposed to temporarily extend the maximum permissible age for taxis and hackneys so that no current vehicle licence holder would be forced out of the industry because a replacement vehicle could not be purchased.The NTA introduced new Regulations on 18 November 2022, permitting an extension to the final operation date of vehicles due to reach their final date of operation/maximum permissible age between 13 March 2020 and 31 December 2024. The purpose of these Regulations is to amend Regulation 31 (Maximum Permissible Age Requirements) of the Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015. The NTA contacted SPSV licence holders to confirm the new final operation date of their current licensed vehicle. This amendment was made as an exceptional provision and contingency measure, as a result of vehicle supply issues. The NTA does not anticipate introducing any further maximum permissible age extensions.
