Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The last thing the Irish taxi industry needs is more time. Nobody has consulted more with the taxi industry and its drivers than I have. I get taxis all the time and I have met representatives of all the groups on multiple occasions. The taxi industry has many great people working in it but it is not an homogeneous group, and nothing I say will completely satisfy the entire group. We have consulted far and wide and met representatives, allowing for submissions. We formed a committee, which I chaired as intended. It met for a long time and formulated 46 recommendations. Within the laws that exist, which will be changed, and the regulations I have outlined, we have put forward many measures that will come through legislation. The most comprehensive taxi Bill in the history of the State will come before the Houses in January and there will be a reinforcement of regulations. With all those measures, we will change the industry substantially.

I sense from the Deputy's concern about an issue I feel strongly about myself. That is the issue of rural taxis. I ensured taxi drivers from outside the capital and other cities were involved with the committee; a gentleman from Kerry who drives a taxi full-time was part of the review group. I have met many groups from rural areas in the likes of Letterkenny, Portlaoise or various other locations around the country. I have always taken their issues on board, and I will continue to do so.

The last thing we need is more time with this issue. We must change the industry, which needs an overhaul never before seen. We must ensure that the people driving cars should be doing so. People will drive taxis tonight who should not be behind the wheel and they need to be taken out. It is as simple as that and I intend to follow that through. Standards must be maintained and brought to a certain level, and I will ensure this happens. A number of qualitative measures are required to improve the industry, which are listed in the review I spoke about. For example, communications at all levels can be improved.

I have the latest comprehensive industry update, which outlines the changes that will take effect on 1 January, 7 January and 31 January. It is good stuff. For example, anybody getting a taxi - particularly young people or ladies - will be able to see on their phone if the person driving a taxi should be doing so. People can do that even before they get into the car, meaning they can be safe and sure that the person is authorised to drive the taxi. There will be strong consequences for a driver or vehicle owner if the information is not up to date. There are a number of other issues and I will take the Deputy's concerns on board.

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