Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I accept that I cannot press amendment No. 5 because there are circumstances where suspension is legitimate, justified and necessary. Taxi drivers share that view. What legitimate full-time taxi drivers are worried about is finding themselves suspended and having difficulty getting back their licence. They submitted some questions to the NTA on the issue but the answer was not clearly spelled out. They asked how a driver would retrieve his or her licence if suspended after reaching eight points under the new system. The response from the NTA was that this could not conclusively be answered until the Taxi Regulation Bill is enacted. However, it replied it is understood that the current intention is that the licence would be automatically suspended for a prescribed period upon reaching the threshold of demerit points and would be automatically restored upon expiry of that prescribed suspension period. It stated, however, that the above position was subject to the conclusion of the Bill. Taxi drivers are worried about the uncertainty, in addition to the low threshold of eight points. What can the Minister of State say to clarify the situation and give some assurance that legitimate taxi drivers will not fall foul of the provision?

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