Vol. 530 No. 6
290 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will formally consult representatives of hackney driv ers following new regulations introduced on 21 November 2000; if he will compensate hackney drivers who purchased hackney licences in November 2000 prior to 21 November 2000 for £1,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4547/01]
Molloy): The major changes introduced by the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 2000, relate to the regime for taxi licensing and operation. The commitment by the Government to address, as a mitigating measure to certain taxi licence holders, the question of high fees paid to local authorities relates to taxi licences only. There is no proposal for such mitigation in relation to hackney licence fees.
Notwithstanding a number of court proceedings now in train, my Department remains accessible to representative groups for meetings in relation to the new taxi licensing regime. This position has been made clear to representatives of hackney drivers.
