Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There would not be a public transport system if it were not for taxi drivers in the State. Many Members have spoken about the necessary work they did before and during this pandemic of taking front-line health and retail workers to work. We always knew taxi drivers did school, hospital and factory runs. They facilitated our economy. They, like others, have been listening to the claim that we are all in this together. We need to ensure there is a Government response which shows them we are all in this together.

Many issues relating to taxi drivers have been not been dealt with over many years. We have the whole issue of deregulation under Mary Harney's tenure many years ago. Several speakers mentioned the absolute necessity that we deal with regulation, as well as the fact that the taxi advisory committee and taxi regulator are not fit for purpose. We need to gear up to ensure we have a system which is absolutely fit for purpose.

I spoke this morning to Paul, a taxi driver in Dundalk. It is always useful to have a taxi driver on speed dial, particularly if one's car breaks down and one has something important to do. Paul told me that previously he would have started work at 6.30 a.m. doing factory runs to the likes of PayPal in Dundalk. Now people are working from home, which we understand given the circumstances, but this means many taxi drivers are not clocking on until 8.30 a.m. They are down a serious amount of money.

However, the one item that is not down for them is their expenses. It is straightforward. The taxi drivers have it down to five demands. I want to raise the spectacularly high rate of insurance they have to pay. Paul told me that he now pays €2,500 per year for insurance on his car. He has had no accident or claims. Seven years ago, he had two cars on the road with properly licensed drivers for less than that.

This is an industry which already had serious viability issues which needed to be dealt with. The industry is now absolutely hammered. Many Members mentioned the ten-year rule. Taxi drivers cannot even earn what they were earning previously. To be expected to sell what in many cases are good cars, cars which have been checked and regulated, because of the ten-year rule is not fair. For a taxi driver nearing retirement, it does not make sense for them to sell a ten-year old car and get a loan for tens of thousands of euro to replace it. The Government needs to step up and ensure supports are given to an industry which is under pressure but which we will need in the future.

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