Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2022
180. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Transport his views on whether increased transferability of taxi licences is needed to address the current taxi shortage; if he has considered this as a solution to the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33891/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) sector, including SPSV licensing, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013.
The transfer of licences for Small Public Service Vehicles (SPSVs) is, at present, prohibited under section 14(1) of the Taxi Regulation Act, 2013. In the case of the death of a licence holder, however, Section 15 of the same Act applies special provisions. In such circumstances, a SPSV licence may continue to be operated by a person who was nominated by the licence holder in advance of his or her death. The current licensing regime is built on the principle that a licence should have no monetary value or be traded on the open market and should simply indicate a person’s suitability to carry out the role of taxi operator.
The NTA has requested the Advisory Committee on SPSVs to conduct a review of the issue of licence transferability. It is expected that the Advisory Committee will submit a report and recommendations on this issue to the NTA in late Q3 2022. Whilst the Committee’s report and any resulting recommendations by the NTA will need to be considered carefully, at this point it is not considered that there are any market or public interest reasons for making large-scale or fundamental changes to the current policy and legislative position.
