Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I have been contacted on this issue in recent months by several taxi groups, as well as by many individual taxi drivers, and they have expressed a lot of concern about it. One of their main concerns is they believe that rural taxi drivers have not been consulted properly. They have told me that many of their dealings were done in electronic format, that is, by e-mail, etc., and one taxi driver to whom I spoke just before entering the Chamber told me that many of his colleagues were not aware of these changes until a few weeks ago because the method of informing them was not a method they used to communicate.

They also have flagged a problem with the proposed prohibition on selling licenses. These taxi drivers have handed over a lot of money for these licenses and I believe they should be allowed to pass them on. In addition, they have expressed concern regarding the branding of cars in rural areas. Many of these taxi drivers also use these cars for their personal use, there is not that much money around, and they believe this would not be a good idea in rural areas. They also have expressed concerns about the possibility of counterfeiting of this branding, as well as about its cost and on who will enforce it. In particular, they have expressed concerns regarding the credit card facilities, the installation of such electronic machinery in their cars and its prohibitive cost, as well as the cost of dealing with whatever institution one must deal. They consider that for the number of people who would avail of cards in their cars, it simply would not be worth their while. They would not have a problem with the proposal if it was, but they already are put to the pins of their collars in this regard. While they have not stated they are opposed to all of these proposals, they seek more time to talk about them. The people who have contacted me indicated they would like a further six months in order that there could be proper consultation in which they could talk to the Minister of State and explain their particular concerns regarding rural areas.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this question. When I first came into office, one of my key priorities was to tackle rogue operators in the taxi sector. There has been unfair competition in the taxi market to date as those full-time professional drivers who do their business well have been obliged to compete with those who consistently flout the rules. The system of regulation needed to become much more robust and it will. Between the taxi review report, the new Taxi Regulation Bill and an increased effort from both the Garda and the National Transport Authority, NTA, I am confident a stop can be put to many issues that taxi drivers frequently raise. More than 13,000 vehicles have been checked this year by both the Garda and NTA enforcement officers and this effort will continue with measures on which I now will elaborate further.

Overall, the reforms arising from the taxi regulation review report concern the better enforcement of the taxi regulations, the improvement of standards and quality of transport service to customers, as well as the encouragement of an exit from the industry of those who operate in breach of the required standards and regulations. Many of the recommendations of the review report, once implemented, will facilitate the oversight of the industry by the National Transport Authority, which has responsibility for the regulation of the taxi industry under the Taxi Regulation Act 2003 and will assist the NTA officers and the Garda Síochána to enforce the taxi regulations.

Action 24 of the review report proposes strengthening of the collaboration between the Garda Síochána and the NTA to secure effective "on-street" enforcement of taxi regulations and to refocus the compliance activities of the NTA towards a greater level of "off-street" compliance and enforcement. Concerning on-street enforcement, there has been very good co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the NTA on enforcement issues this year and a substantial number of joint operations have been undertaken. The NTA is currently drafting an enforcement plan for 2013, which will be co-ordinated with An Garda Síochána's policing plan for 2013 and this will assist with continued co­operation during 2013.

The introduction of taxi branding on taxis and wheelchair accessible taxis from 1 January 2013, in line with action 31 of the review report, aims to provide greater visibility and recognition of taxis, to reduce the potential for unlicensed vehicles to operate as taxis, as well as to promote greater professionalism in the industry. If, on renewal, a driver does not have the official branding, his or her vehicle licence will not be renewed. If a driver is caught on the street with branding that is not official, he or she then will be liable to a €250 fine. In addition, as recommended under actions 21 and 25 of the review report, Garda powers are to be extended to allow members of An Garda Síochána to issue fixed charge notices in respect of additional small public service vehicle, SPSV, fixed charge offences. It is anticipated that in 2013, regulations will be made in this regard upon commencement of section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 2010.

The new legislation will provide for a much more sophisticated enforcement toolkit, which will include mandatory disqualification for life for serious criminal offences, mandatory disqualification for a period where life disqualification may be disproportionate, revocation or suspension of licences where appropriate, fines to be imposed by courts, fixed payment offences and a demerit scheme, that is, penalty points where repeated minor transgressions will lead to a temporary suspension, if necessary.

Other provisions in the Bill will enable the NTA to supplement its existing enforcement resources through service agreements, will allow authorised officers powers to inspect and examine the condition and roadworthiness of SPSVs and, under warrant, to enter a private dwelling for enforcement purposes, as well as to enable the NTA to establish and use cameras, CCTV and other apparatus at taxi ranks for enforcement and prosecutions. Further to the Government decision of 27 November, the Taxi Regulation Bill was published on 5 December and is to be introduced in the Seanad in January 2013.

Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I am always somewhat bemused as to how the Minister responding knows the answer to the issues that are to be brought up, as well as all the details, before the Member who raised it has actually spoken in the Topical Issue debate. When the Minister of State was writing his response, he obviously knew all these things. The most interesting point made by the Minister of State was that the Government intends to crack down hard on rogue taxi drivers.

That is a wonderful idea which should be executed. Before doing so, the Government should ensure there has been dialogue and consultation with everybody involved. I am sure the people to whom I have spoken have better things to do than ringing politicians; if everything was all right, they would not be doing that. They have concerns and the Minister of State's comments will not satisfy them. These people are seeking another six months so they can be properly briefed on this, with time for any issues causing significant problems to be dealt with.

After this is done, Fine Gael - the party of law and order - can ram the law down their throats. Is there any chance the Government will speak with the interested parties in the mean time? If it does so, the process will be right, everybody will be on board and it will be a success. The Minister of State should provide a chance for dialogue with the people involved.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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That started as a compliment but I do not know how it ended.

Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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It is Christmas, although I am an atheist.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State should be careful.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The last thing the Irish taxi industry needs is more time. Nobody has consulted more with the taxi industry and its drivers than I have. I get taxis all the time and I have met representatives of all the groups on multiple occasions. The taxi industry has many great people working in it but it is not an homogeneous group, and nothing I say will completely satisfy the entire group. We have consulted far and wide and met representatives, allowing for submissions. We formed a committee, which I chaired as intended. It met for a long time and formulated 46 recommendations. Within the laws that exist, which will be changed, and the regulations I have outlined, we have put forward many measures that will come through legislation. The most comprehensive taxi Bill in the history of the State will come before the Houses in January and there will be a reinforcement of regulations. With all those measures, we will change the industry substantially.

I sense from the Deputy's concern about an issue I feel strongly about myself. That is the issue of rural taxis. I ensured taxi drivers from outside the capital and other cities were involved with the committee; a gentleman from Kerry who drives a taxi full-time was part of the review group. I have met many groups from rural areas in the likes of Letterkenny, Portlaoise or various other locations around the country. I have always taken their issues on board, and I will continue to do so.

The last thing we need is more time with this issue. We must change the industry, which needs an overhaul never before seen. We must ensure that the people driving cars should be doing so. People will drive taxis tonight who should not be behind the wheel and they need to be taken out. It is as simple as that and I intend to follow that through. Standards must be maintained and brought to a certain level, and I will ensure this happens. A number of qualitative measures are required to improve the industry, which are listed in the review I spoke about. For example, communications at all levels can be improved.

I have the latest comprehensive industry update, which outlines the changes that will take effect on 1 January, 7 January and 31 January. It is good stuff. For example, anybody getting a taxi - particularly young people or ladies - will be able to see on their phone if the person driving a taxi should be doing so. People can do that even before they get into the car, meaning they can be safe and sure that the person is authorised to drive the taxi. There will be strong consequences for a driver or vehicle owner if the information is not up to date. There are a number of other issues and I will take the Deputy's concerns on board.