Mr. Hugh Creegan:

I understand that one of the options is that drivers would queue on a feeder rank on Cathal Brugha Street for the main rank around the corner on O'Connell Street. I do not know if that would give rise to problems but it is one of the options that is being actively explored at the moment. It will take a little bit more time before a preferred solution emerges but everyone is conscious of the sensitivity of that particular location.

The Deputy also referred to people activating multiple licences using the same vehicle. We are conscious that this occurs in a number of places but it is in compliance with the regulations. While it might not seem satisfactory at first glance, it is actually compliant with the regulations. However, if a vehicle is moved from one licence to another, the licence that was taken off the vehicle is then on a time limit. It must be attached to another vehicle within one year or it will expire. We will see what happens over the next while in that regard but we are aware it is going on in a very small way. When we looked closely at it, however, we could not say there was anything technically wrong with it.

I referred earlier to the analysis of costs for people entering the industry and it is our intention to conduct a fare review later this year. As part of that review, we intend to gather and publish information on driver income or potential income. The issue of enforcement officers was raised and from our point of view, because the taxi industry is a 24-hour, seven days a week industry, across every county in the country, with only eight enforcement officers we cannot police the whole country. We very much rely on An Garda Síochána which has the capability of covering the country, even though we totally understand that it has numerous other priorities at any given time. We are going to supplement our enforcement team in 2014 with the engagement of an external service provider. That service provider will appoint 15 personnel, all of whom are ex-gardaí, and once the Taxi Regulation Act is commenced and we are able to authorise them in the way we want to, they will supplement our own eight enforcement officers. We will do our best to increase enforcement throughout the country using that additional resource.