Taxi reforms will go ahead vows Regulator
Taxi Regulator Ger Deering today insisted proposed reforms of the industry would go ahead later this month despite hundreds of drivers blockading his office this afternoon.
The angry cabbies gathered in Phoenix Park this morning before causing disruption across Dublin city centre as they made their way in convoy to Fitzwilliam Square at lunchtime to express their opposition to the plans.
Unions claim the new system, which includes a maximum national taxi fare and the abolition of pick-up and luggage charges at Dublin Airport, will have a devastating impact on drivers’ incomes.
But Mr Deering insisted he had to consider the views of all those who contributed to a major consultation process from February to December last year and not just those who shouted the loudest.
“Part of the problem we’re having is a lack of understanding of the regulatory process where you consult, you consider the findings of that consultation and then you have to decide and move on and act,” he said.
“And you can’t then give a veto to any particular group or any particular section over those changes, it just isn’t how a regulatory process can work.
“But there will be opportunities to review the fare, to look at the fare, it’s a brand new fare, it will require constant implementation over time.
“Many drivers already have the fare incorporated into their meter and verified by the Legal Metrology Service so they’re ready to go on September 25 so it has to go ahead and it will go ahead and we should review it and look at it over time and see how it works.”
He added: “I have to listen to all voices not just those that shout the loudest.”
The new system includes the introduction of minimum charges set at €3.80, or €4.10 at premium times, replacing the system where fares were set by individual local authorities.
The Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, National Taxi Drivers Union and Siptu, who represent 14,000 of the State’s 17,000 taxi drivers, organised today’s protest and some drivers have also threatened to strike during the prestigious Ryder Cup golf tournament during the week the new structures come into effect.
Mr Deering and Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue have warned that any strike then would harm Ireland’s tourist industry.
