Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the points made and the engagement by the Deputy. In the past number of weeks alone, I have met some taxi drivers, as we have discussed ourselves, and am happy to engage directly with others. There needs to be a strong level of engagement by the State with the representatives. I am certainly willing to engage with them and we can organise that.

As I have said, before introducing regulations and vehicle age limits, the NTA publishes its proposals for public consultation for a one-month period. Any views received are considered before new regulations are introduced. As a Department, we have been supportive of the SPSV industry during the pandemic, as I have said, and this has ensuring that no one has left the industry due to his or her inability to upgrade his or her end of life vehicle due to the unavailability of a replacement vehicle. The NTA also introduced a small public service vehicle regulation in 2021, the purpose of which was to double the period that taxi, hackney and limousine licences may rest in inactive status after expiry, prior to losing the capacity to be replaced, which is a permanent amendment to regulation 17. The situation to which the Deputy refers relates to a small number of vehicles in the context of the ten-year age limit. As well as having a vehicle age extension, licenceholders have that opportunity in the context of the electric public service vehicle, eSPSV, grants which are also there. Some 1,779 grants have been paid between the beginning of the scheme in 2018 and 1 September 2023, with associated funding of more than €32 million, which shows a degree of momentum. We can see it here and elsewhere that there is an encouraging number of electric vehicles now translating into the fleet. On the point of engagement, it is important that the voice of taxi drivers is heard in the context of policy discussions and we will try to strengthen that.

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