Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Officially, we have 15 minutes each but we will see how I get on. I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak to this new legislation, the Taxi Regulation Bill. This is an important Bill. The priority of the industry must be to ensure the safety and protection of the drivers and their customers. The Bill gives us a great opportunity to examine the regulation and the urgent need to always be on our guard. Having considered the details of the legislation it is clear the Bill will reform the regulation of the taxi industry. The Bill repeals the Taxi Regulation Act 2003 and some other taxi-specific legislation and restates and updates the provisions. There are several changes to the regulatory framework proposed in the Bill. It makes changes to the enforcement of taxi regulations and includes a new penalty points system for breaching taxi licensing conditions, makes reference to use of CCTV and adds restrictions on who can apply for a taxi licence based on criminal and driving offences committed. This is essentially what the legislation is about.

I welcome the fact that we are dealing with this legislation. I strongly welcome the legislation and the debate and I am largely satisfied with most of the provisions set out in the Bill. I have listened to all sides of the debate in recent years and I believe it is about time that we face up to the reality. I welcome the fact that the Bill is back in this Chamber for debate. I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Alan Kelly, who met as many stakeholders from the industry as possible. Few previous Ministers have put as much effort into the brief as the current Minister of State. I accept and welcome that because that is the way one should deal with legislation. Although I am an Independent Opposition Deputy if someone does something sensible or right I will always say as much and go on the record. That does not mean I will go easy on the other issues.

The current taxi regulation legislation has had to be rewritten because the industry was left to stagnate to such an extent that it became a public safety issue. I wish to concentrate on this issue and I intend to raise other serious issues gleaned from my experience of dealing with the public and from talking to taxi drivers. The impetus for change in the industry came from the taxi driver protests and excellent investigative journalism from people such as Paul Maguire and the "Prime Time" team in RTE.

The reason behind the current chaos in the taxi industry relates to its being exposed and used as a test tube for free market economic theories. The taxi industry now serves as a perfect example of how disastrous those failed economic theories actually are, not only for the taxi industry but for the wider economy and for our society. There is a lesson to be learnt in that regard as well.

Virtually any analysis of the taxi industry proves how corrosive is the free market theory. More than 13,100 vehicle licence holders now depend on social welfare to supplement their incomes. More important, from a consumer point of view the effects of these theories have proven to be even worse. There are people working in the industry who, because of the current economic climate, are going to community welfare officers seeking financial help for their families. That is a reality not mentioned in the broader debate.

Taxi journeys and times are now taking longer because of bizarre taxi traffic jams, while the meter keeps ticking. The most recent survey of taxi waiting times suggests that 50% of customers must wait, on average, up to 30 minutes for a taxi.

The most badly affected taxi customers are those unfortunate enough to be confined to a wheelchair. The number of specifically adapted wheelchair-accessible taxis is collapsing. There are currently only approximately 950 of these taxes to cover the entire country. These vehicles are the most expensive to purchase, maintain and keep on the road. Once again the most vulnerable suffer most because of this fact.

I wish to focus on one issue in particular. In the past five years there have been 24 deaths, 58 serious collisions and 1,008 minor collisions involving taxis. These figures do not include insurance industry statistics or incidents where the Garda was not notified. There have been several surveys from throughout the world into rogue collisions involving taxis. Most surveys highlight that weekends and night-time are the peak times for collisions involving taxis. The sole exception to these surveys was a study by the United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading into the London taxi industry. The survey proved that over an 11 year period the number of collisions involving the famous London black cabs varied little. The point is these cabs in London are safer because of proper supervision, regulation and rules. The State has a statutory and legal obligation to oversee the development of a professional, safe, efficient and consumer-friendly service by small public service vehicle drivers. The free market test has failed in the past. The Minister of State should ensure that the Bill fulfils the State's legal and statutory obligations to its citizens. I raise this issue because many taxi drivers are concerned about it.

One of the main features of the Bill is the strengthening of the regime that excludes persons who are convicted of certain offences from being taxi drivers either indefinitely or for a specific period. Deputy Dessie Ellis has a point in this regard. We have an internationally signed agreement, the Good Friday Agreement. If people directly affected by the restrictions are prevented from going into employment in the industry then it is important that we deal with the issue. I look forward to the response of the Minister of State in this regard. It is strange because most of the violence occurred in the North but the people there are prepared to work together, do their best to bring a sense of forgiveness, move on with their lives and allow people who are involved on both sides to get involved in the industry, provided they give a complete guarantee that customer safety will be a priority. Therefore, there is no reason why we in the Twenty-six Counties should not accept that reality. We are in an evolving situation this State and as part of that people need to accept responsibility. However, the State must accept responsibility and be inclusive and broad. If there are people who have been involved in issues in the past and if they make a determined effort to change then we must recognise that and move on.

We also have a new demerit or penalty points system for breaches of taxi regulation and I welcome that. The National Transport Authority can authorise use of cameras and various apparatus for the enforcement of taxi regulations. These are issues as well.

I welcome section 12(1), which states, "The licensing authority may, at any time, revoke a licence if it is satisfied that the holder of the licence is no longer a suitable person to hold a licence." With regard to this section and the broader issue, I challenge the Members of the Seanad, including Senator Sean Barrett, when it comes to economic theory that has been tested and failed. I refer in particular to the regulation and safety issues and so-called amendments that do not take into consideration the exhausted taxi driver, the double jobbers who drive a taxi after working all day, sometimes for eight hours, and the issue of the effects of this on driver and customer safety.

The Minister of State and the NTA must move on this issue. My job as an Independent Deputy is to highlight this matter and put public safety first. That is the bottom line and I will never deviate from this. Drivers on low income will also have to cut back on maintenance. The reality is that 8% of those claiming social welfare benefits are taxi drivers because of market saturation, another issue of public safety. We must keep an eye on the issue, which was glossed over by a number of Senators. I have major concerns about taxi drivers who are working for seven or eight hours after a day's work driving a bus or a lorry. Many taxi drivers have expressed their concern to me about that.

When we look at the current economic climate, it is unlikely there will be increased resources in the near future and any expansion in the taxi regulation service must be met from existing resources. The Exchequer funded part of the administration budget for the NTA was approximately €4.4 million in 2012 but the taxi regulation system currently costs less to administer than it earns in licensing fees. Licensing income amounted to €5.9 million while administration expenses were approximately €3.9 million, not including pay and accommodation costs. In addition, when the commission was merged with the NTA, it brought €20 million in net assets with it. The NTA annual budget suggests the merger and related administration changes led to annual savings of €1 million. This suggests some leeway for additional spending on taxi regulation. This would, however, be at the expense of spending on other NTA activities. We will have problems ensuring the proper policing of the legislation and the industry in the current economic climate.

Overall, I welcome the broader debate. I ask the Minister of State to look at the health and safety issues and to listen to the full-time, honest, caring taxi drivers on the ground who want to make a living, provide a service and ensure their customers travel in a safe vehicle. I also ask the Minister of State to consider the issue arising from the Good Friday Agreement and any possible scope for movement when amendments are tabled.

The core of the debate is the emphasis on regulation. Some people are saying in this morning's media that we must follow the John Bruton path of going back to light regulation. Have we still not learned the lessons of life, that there cannot be a situation where those responsible for spending public money and for public safety are not regulated? If we have not learned that lesson in recent years, we must wake up.

I commend the Minister of State for the work he did in talking to the stakeholders in the taxi industry and getting them directly involved in the legislation.

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