Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

Throughout the pandemic and more recently, the Government and the NTA have been actively engaged in ensuring appropriate and timely measures are in place to support the taxi sector in addressing the challenges it faces. I recognise that rising fuel costs are a significant challenge for all sectors. As the Deputy is aware, on 9 March the Government announced a temporary reduction in fuel-related excise duties of 20 cent per litre of petrol and 15 cent per litre of diesel. These reductions, which were due to finish at the end of August, will be extended until budget day in October, at an additional cost of €80 million. This should help to reduce the operating costs of all private and commercial vehicle owners, including operators of non-electric small public service vehicles, SPSVs. In addition, the NTA's national maximum fares review, which closed for public consultation on 27 May, proposes an average increase of 12% in taxi fares from 31 August 2022. This will be the first increase in such fares since 2017.

While the NTA has statutory responsibility for regulating the SPSV industry, taxi drivers are self-employed individuals and, as such, decide on their own business strategies within the regulatory framework, including choosing the times at which they operate. The NTA's 2022 driver survey shows that 93% of drivers are now working but only 29% currently undertake night work. Some 30% of drivers, up from 17% in 2019, reported that they would consider doing night work if the relevant fares were to increase. In recognition of this, the proposed fare increases have been weighted in favour of the premium rate that can be charged for journeys between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., as well as on Sundays and public holidays. The increase in cents and euro for each taxi user per journey is not substantial, but the cumulative impact is significant for drivers. The weighting in the increase has been designed to encourage more drivers to operate during these periods and also to encourage drivers who may still not have come back into the sector since the pandemic to reactivate their licences.

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