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

The lockdown and restrictions put in place have affected many industries. The pandemic has hit the taxi industry particularly hard. Most taxi drivers have families to support and many have mortgages to pay and, of course, the usual household bills. As self-employed people they need an income to be able to do all of this. In addition, they still have to pay for their insurance, taxi licence fees, car loans and other ancillary costs. They cannot work from home. When they are not out driving their taxis they are not earning money. This forces many taxi drivers to have to go back to work to have an income.

Taxi organisations have said many older taxi drivers are forced to go back to work for financial reasons. The pandemic unemployment payment is paid only to those between the ages of 18 and 66. A total of 23% of taxi drivers are over 66 years of age and as such they do not qualify for the pandemic payment. I have had many calls from taxi drivers who are not eligible for the payment because they are over the age limit. They have detailed to me the hardships they face as a consequence. Such drivers are also a vulnerable group because of their age and many have underlying health conditions. They are putting themselves at potential risk by returning to work to try to earn a living wage. There needs to be some flexibility by the Government to correct this anomaly. The closing of hotels, restaurants, pubs and places of entertainment has meant a sharp decline in taxi use. There has also been a substantial decline in footfall through Dublin Airport. The loss of such large numbers of users has meant that over the course of the pandemic taxi drivers have had to work long hours for little reward.

It would not make any sense in this climate to issue new taxi plates. We should also look at the recommendations from the taxi advisory committee, in particular with regard to the nine-year rule. For a taxi to be deemed fit for purpose it has to go through two comprehensive tests. These are the NCT, which is basically a mechanical test for a vehicle, and a suitability test, which ensures a taxi operates to minimum standards of size, accessibility and comfort. If the taxi meets the requirements of both tests there should be no necessity to get rid of the vehicle once it is ten years old. I opposed this rule many years ago and argued vehemently against it. Does the Minister know that taxis in the United States can be 20 or 30 years old and black taxis in England can be more than 20 or 30 years old? This does not make sense. If there were a proper testing facility with proper means to test and confidence in the tests we should be able to extend these rules.

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