Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

Over the last couple of years I have met representatives of the Irish taxi industry - the established representative bodies which have been there for some time, some of which are unions or members of unions. They are involved in the consultative process that is currently taking place with the Advisory Council to the Commission for Taxi Regulation. The advisory council stated in a letter to me dated 16 March 2010:

The industry representative bodies which sit on the Advisory Council have fully engaged with the proper consultative processes and have played their part in progressing a number of initiatives such as the forthcoming introduction of Wheelchair Accessible licences only for taxis and hackneys, stricter rules on transferability of licences, new vehicle standards and the new Driver Skills Development Programme.

Clearly, not only is this kind of engagement the correct and proper route to take, it is also the most constructive for all parties. The Irish Taxi Council [which is the group the Deputy mentioned] 'demanding change' whilst disrupting the general public cannot possibly be a successful route to improvement of standards.

I agree with the advisory council that the way to change any regulations with which people have a difficulty is through the consultative process and not by disrupting the general public, who have enough hassle in their lives.

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