Vol. 519 No. 5
243 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the system available to local authorities to licence hackneys indicating the jurisdictional basis for such local authorities to delimit or restrict the nature of such licences issued to new applicants; in particular, if a local authority can implement such by-laws to change the nature and extent of these licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14366/00]
Unlike taxi licensing, which operates on the basis of a designated taximeter area, hackney licensing is not in principle related to a defined geographic area and in general allows the provision of private hire services by the licensee throughout the State.
A local authority is empowered under the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995, as amended, to grant hackney licences in its functional area and, as a reserved function, may also determine that hackney licences shall not be granted in its functional area. A local authority may also, as a reserved function, apply conditions to the operation of hackneys it has licensed in its functional area, including prohibiting or restricting the initiation or commencement of hires by hackneys in specified parts of the functional area.
