Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, on his appointment and I wish him well.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this Sinn Féin motion which concerns the specific difficulties and challenges faced by the taxi industry due to Covid-19, and crucially, to agree with many of the proposals which will help the industry to survive in the short term, and importantly, to be sustainable in the longer term. We have already heard the statistics from many Deputies.

It is worth reiterating the fact there are approximately 20,000 small public service vehicles registered with the National Transport Authority, NTA, in 2020 and approximately 26,000 qualified drivers. In the constituency I represent there are 153 taxis and hackneys in Sligo, 52 in Leitrim, 307 in the whole county of Donegal and 105 in the entire county of Roscommon. I ask Deputy Pringle not to worry as I am not suggesting that I represent all of those taxis, just the ones in the south of his county. I quote those figures to emphasise the size of the industry, the number of people who work in it, the number of families who rely on it to pay the mortgage, its importance in providing public transport for all, especially accessible transport, and the contribution it makes to the State in paying taxes, VRT, road tax, licences, etc. A taxi is not just a man or woman with a car for hire, it is an essential service. It is a business to support families and a significant contributor to the economy of the country.

The taxi industry virtually collapsed in the period from March to June. It recovered, depending on the part of the country in question, 20% to 30% of its former revenue during the summer. Now, according to many taxi drivers I have spoken to, with summer over and staycations largely over, the business is diminishing again. While I am happy to see the safe reopening of wet pubs, this means people will be able to socialise locally and not have to travel to larger towns to go to a restaurant. This will impact on the taxi business. The chauffeur industry is virtually non-existent. It is down 98% in revenue since 2019 and it represents about 10% of the industry. It relies on corporate, leisure and tourism visitors to Ireland. There is no business. Taxis and cars are locked up and parked up.

The proposals in this motion, if implemented, would make a real difference to the taxi industry. Many Deputies have spoken about the moratorium on issuing new taxi licences during the pandemic. I do not think the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, agreed with this but it makes economic sense. I do not see any downside to this. It would give people in the industry a tiny bit of certainty about their future.

We also ask for a two-year extension for vehicles that would normally have to be replaced in ten years, where the vehicles are assessed as roadworthy. I listened to the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, earlier when he argued against this proposal and I understand there is some flexibility shown by the NTA. However, the losses being incurred by everybody in the taxi business are ongoing and mounting so when the effects of the pandemic are lessened, and we do not know when that will be, they will spend years trying to make up their losses. They are not starting with a clean sheet and, as the Minister of State mentioned, there are loan schemes and credit guarantee schemes and that is great for cash flow. However, surely he realises that those loans have to be repaid. The reality of business is that if one does not make a few pounds, one goes to the wall. A €6 taxi fare here and an €8 taxi fare a few hours later is the reality for many in the business. The Minister of State's idea that a six-month or nine-month extension to the ten-year rule will be sufficient ignores the reality of the crisis this industry faces.

The taxi sector needs sector-specific support. Rates breaks have been given, rightly, to other businesses. Maybe that could be mirrored by a vehicle registration tax rebate, depending on the age of the cars. This motion provides a reasonable and credible template for action and I am happy to support it.

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