Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 13 May 2003

Vol. 566 No. 3

Written Answers. - Taxi Deregulation.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

370 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Transport if, in March 2003 the European committee which is investigating the deregulation of taxis here, visited his Department in order that this issue could be addressed; the discussions which took place concerning that and other meetings between the European committee and his Department; the position concerning compensation for taxi men and women who lost out as a result of deregulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12662/03]

Minister for Transport (Mr. Brennan)

I refer to the reply to Question No. 176 of 8 May 2003. I met with a delegation from the EU Committee on Petitions on 4 April 2003 along with officials from my Department and the interim chairman of the Commission for Taxi Regulation. I took the opportunity to explain the background to taxi liberalisation and the independent three person taxi hardship panel that was established by the Government to report in general terms on the nature and extent of extreme personal financial hardship that may have been experienced by individual taxi licence holders arising from loss of income as a direct result of liberalisation. I also explained that based on legal precedent there can be no legal duty on the State to compensate taxi licence holders in relation to open market licence values that may have existed prior to taxi liberalisation.

I informed the delegation that the Government has approved the implementation of the taxi hardship panel recommendations and that every effort will be made to put in place a structure to facilitate the commencement of payments on the basis of those recommendations as soon as possible.

Pat Carey

Ceist:

371 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Transport if the taxi-hackney hardship panel has met; if it has made compensation settlements to taxi or hackney operators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12681/03]

Minister for Transport (Mr. Brennan)

In February 2002 the Government approved the appointment of a panel of three independent persons to report in general terms on the nature and extent of extreme personal financial hardship which may have been experienced by individual taxi licence holders as a direct result of the liberalisation of entry to the taxi industry on 21 November 2000.

On 17 December 2002 the Government approved the implementation on a phased basis of the recommendations of the taxi hardship panel in accordance with An Agreed Programme for Government. These recommendations relate to extreme personal financial hardship as a result of taxi liberalisation experienced by taxi licence holders only. Any payments to be made as a result of this implementation will not represent compensation but rather compassionate payments in respect of extreme personal financial hardship. The report of the taxi hardship panel recommends the establishment of a scheme to provide payments to individual taxi licence holders who fall into one of six categories that the panel assessed as having suffered extreme personal financial hardship.

The design and administration of a scheme to implement the recommendations of the taxi hardship panel and the arrangements to facilitate the making of payments to eligible persons will be progressed as quickly as possible so as to ensure that applications are dealt with on a confidential and objective basis. In that context, I have already asked Mr. Jimmy Farrelly, who I recently appointed as the interim chairman of the Commission for Taxi Regulation, to progress as a priority the implementation of the findings of the panel report.