Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister keeps kicking to touch to the NTA and saying that it lays the rules but it was pointed out to the review group that this would cause problems. I do not see why there is a problem in allowing people to have decals that can be taken away and put aside instead of permanently having them on the vehicle. A big issue is burglary and theft from vehicles and taxis are a major target. In many cases, taxi drivers work at night so if taxis with signage are parked outside houses, people know their owners are not there. Another example is where a driver travelling across the Border is pulled over by the PSNI which tell him that it is not wise to drive the car in certain areas. There are health and safety and other issues involved as well as the right of a person to drive their own car. When drivers pull up at traffic lights or elsewhere, people try to open the car doors when they see the decals. The sign on the roof is gone. What is the problem with going back to that? I do not see a major problem. We have dug in our heels. Hackneys and limousines do not have do it. Why should taxis have to do it? I am asking the Minister to talk to the NTA.

There is also an issue with insurance companies which say that they will not provide private, social or domestic insurance because of the decals. We have a problem which we never had previously. It means that, in many cases, a person or their family needs a second car. It is an outrageous expense. We brought in rules like the nine-year rule, in which I could never see any sense. Cars went through their NCT tests. In the US and other places, some cars are 20 and 30 years old. Some of the rules introduced never made sense. Anyone who is entering the industry must have a car that is between one and four years old. That is a significant expense and excludes many people in working class areas who cannot afford the expense.

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