Olivia Mitchell
Ceist:65 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his plans to ensure a modern, safe and efficient taxi service. [19660/01]
Priority Questions. - Taxi Service.
The Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations, 2000, established a revised basis for taxi licensing and introduced a range of qualitative improvements, including annual testing of small public service vehicles. The new regulations do not place or authorise any restriction on the numbers of new taxi licences which shall be granted by local licensing authorities. This new regime is already bringing significant benefits to service users and I anticipate that the benefits will further accumulate as new service providers are fully mobilised.
I have indicated that it is my intention that the process of making all taxis wheelchair accessible will commence by end 2003. I have also made clear my intention to consult extensively with representatives of consumer groups, disabled persons and taxi service providers to develop further quality improvements for taxi services for the benefit of both the service providers and the general public alike in the medium term. A definitive timescale for this consultation process has not been fixed, but my Department will finalise a consultation document in the near future.
I am committed to the implementation of the new taxi regime and to the introduction of measures at the earliest possible date to facilitate a further quality enhancement of taxi services.
The Minister of State is not in touch with reality when he talks about benefits to the consumer which have arisen from these changes. Does he accept that deregulation without any other measures to improve standards has resulted in an industry that is in chaos, inhabited by part-time drivers who drive with no reference to consumer demand, that we have lost virtually all the wheelchair accessible taxis and that the standards his Department set for wheelchair accessible taxis are not suitable for even the most able-bodied or youngest consumer not to men tion people who are infirm or disabled? Also, despite the trebling of the number of taxi plates, the number of taxis operating has reduced. The consumer is suffering as a result of ill-timed measures by the Minister of State, whom, I suspect, knew nothing about how the taxi industry operated.
There was a very poor taxi service in place until the Government took action.
The Minister destroyed it altogether.
There were no new licences issued when the last Government was in power.
We are talking about today.
It is strange to hear Deputies from parties that were in that Government talking about the quality of the taxi service.
The Minister of State's colleagues prevented any—
Rather than jumping on the bandwagon, it would be a good idea if we were to wait for the result of the customer service assessment that Dublin Corporation intends to carry out. That can be compared with its previous assessment of 1998, which preceded the change in the regime and the liberalisation that took place.
The major licensing authority is Dublin Corporation. Its customer service assessment is the most likely assessment to give a true indication of what is happening in the service. There has been more than a doubling in the number of licences. I accept that some licences of people who were driving as cosies, who had the opportunity to get their own, may not be active.
We have introduced a requirement that licences must be renewed every year. The inactive ones will be removed from the system so we will be able to make a better estimate of how many people are active in the business. There has been a marked improvement, and the public has testified to this but we know there is still a need for major improvements. I have indicated that we will carry out a major quality assessment of the taxi industry nationally, particularly of that in the Dublin area. We have quite a bit of work to do in that regard. We have not finished addressing the issue. We just took the initial step of increasing the number of licences, which in itself produced a significant improvement in the standard of the service. However, we still have a long way to go.
Does the Minister of State not accept that it is not good enough to say the initial step has been taken and that step 2 will be taken in two and a half years time? In the meantime, Dublin will need a taxi service. The Minister cannot walk away from the issue. Who is in charge of the taxi service now? Is it the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, Dublin Corporation, the Carriage Office or the Garda? There are drivers operating who are not monitored – over a period of five years, they could be in and out of prison for all sorts of reasons.
That is not relevant to the question.
I am asking the Minister of State if he thinks it acceptable that this chaos continues for another two and a half years. Does he not accept that management must go to one body or another, whether it is the Minister's office or Dublin Corporation? Where the management of the Dublin area is concerned, I feel it should be handed to Dublin Corporation. The industry should be managed by a body that has some understanding and experience of the industry.
I intervened only because Dublin Corporation was not taking the necessary action.
That is not true.
That is because the Fine Fáil members would not let them.
I did not take over all the functions from Dublin Corporation. Some of the taxi groups are now asking me to take over other functions – fare fixing, for example. I have not yet done anything of that kind. The issue is under review and extensive consultation will take place with all the interested parties. I am conscious of the issue of wheelchair access. It must be resolved but will present certain difficulties.