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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 May 2003

Vol. 567 No. 1

Written Answers. - Taxi Regulations.

John Bruton

Ceist:

351 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Transport the reason an upper limit, or cap, of ?13,000 was placed on the amount that could be paid in compensation to individuals who lost out as a result of the Government's decision to liberalise the taxi industry; his views on whether it was reasonable to impose such a limit on the body that was supposed to evaluate each case on a case by case basis; and if he will remove this cap in order to allow each case to be assessed on its actual merits. [13439/03]

Dinny McGinley

Ceist:

358 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Transport if he has concluded the review of the hardship payments to taxi plate holders who were affected by deregulation which he promised to carry out in his meeting with the European Parliament petitions committee delegation on 4 April 2003. [13741/03]

Dinny McGinley

Ceist:

362 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Transport if he proposes to meet the Families Advocate Immediate Redress group as he agreed to do in his meeting with the European Parliament petitions committee delegation on 4 April 2003. [13871/03]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 351, 358 and 362 together.

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. No prior parameters were imposed in relation to the recommendations the panel might make concerning the level of payments, if any, it might propose. The panel invited submissions from taxi licence holders and also met taxi representative groups and individuals who made submissions before finalising and submitting its report to me. The report of the 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 per sonal financial hardship. In this regard the panel has recommended that a range of payments might be made to eligible and qualifying taxi licence holders for sums ranging from €3,000 to €15,000 depending on the category of hardship involved.
I have accepted the report of the Taxi Hardship Panel and on 17 December 2002 the Government also approved the implementation on a phased basis of the recommendations of the Taxi Hardship Panel in accordance with An Agreed Programme for Government. 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. It has been clearly stated from the outset 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 liberalisation.
I explained the above position to the EU committee on petitions on 4 April 2003 and no promise of a review of the Taxi Hardship Panel recommendations was made by me at that meeting. While every effort is being made to put in place a structure to facilitate the commencement of payments on the basis of the panel recommendations as soon as possible, I have no current proposals for any payments beyond those recommendations.
As indicated at the meeting with the EU Committee on Petitions, I am available to meet the Families Advocate Immediate Redress group and hope to do so at a mutually convenient date in the future.
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