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

The Taoiseach's statement of strategy makes several commitments to supporting those affected by Covid-19 and assisting their economic recovery, allowing them to plan for a post-Covid future. One of the groups - I have raised this repeatedly with the Taoiseach - with a very uncertain future which has seen a massive and continuing adverse effect from Covid-19 is taxi drivers. After the Minister for Transport's announcement of a so-called package of support last week, taxi drivers wrote to the Taoiseach again to express their extraordinary disappointment at the failure of the Government to meet any of the demands they made. They made five very simple demands to save the taxi industry and their livelihoods. These included a financial package to cover ongoing costs, a moratorium on future licences and, critically, an extension of the requirement to replace a vehicle after nine years to approximately 15 years, given the loss of income and major debts taxi drivers would have to incur in a very uncertain position if they had to finance new vehicles. There were also requests to disband the taxi advisory committee, which the group feels is unrepresentative of taxi drivers, and the provision of access to bus corridors. None of those demands was met.

When the Taoiseach met representatives of the four taxi groups that organised the recent protest, he said he would get back to them about their demands but he did not do it. There was an announcement but there was no response from the Taoiseach and none of the demands was met. It is really not acceptable.

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