Dáil debates
Tuesday, 20 June 2023
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Taxi Regulations
10:20 pm
Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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I know the Minister of State is present on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, so I thank him for that. Since I was elected to this House in 2020, taxi operators have consistently outlined to me that their livelihoods are in serious trouble due to illegal operators. I have tabled many parliamentary questions to the Minister over the past couple of years concerning the ability of the National Transport Authority, NTA, to tackle the problem. The responses I have received have done little to convince me that the Minister and Minister of State responsible have any interest in solving what is going on here. I would say that, only for the register of operators themselves, no one else seems to be taking anything seriously. I am aware that neither Minister is available to respond this evening so I will instead take this opportunity to highlight this problem in anticipation that it will be fed back to the Department and that they will ultimately engage with the NTA, An Garda Síochána, and illegal taxi operators about this important matter that is affecting livelihoods in the sector and their future employment prospects.
Operators of small public service vehicles, SPSVs, in County Tipperary and throughout the country, as well as enforcement officials, have said that illegal operators are rampant across the country. They are and the NTA enforcers have said similar. Effective enforcement alongside consequences that act as a deterrent are sadly lacking in the overall scheme because effective enforcement, along with the consequences, are more or less zero. There were 54 cases over the past couple of years, which is two per county. Anybody with any grasp of the situation will see that those small figures are pure stupid. An Garda Síochána and the NTA do not have the resources to catch all the illegal operators given the process that is currently involved in gathering the evidence that is needed to satisfy the burden of proof that an individual is operating for hire or reward. Should an illegal operator be prosecuted they may receive a fine of a few hundred euro and according to what I hear regularly, as I am quite sure the Minister does, they just get back into the driving seat and go back out that night to do the exact same thing again.
One legal operator whom I know and who appeared before the transport committee last year spoke of how at the time at least 15 illegal operators were known within a 30-mile radius in one region. There were four prosecutions in the previous six months and the four people who were prosecuted were back out operating the following night. Is the Department satisfied that the options open to the gardaí and the NTA to tackle the problem are significant and effective? There is concern that they are not, How can someone be prosecuted for operating an entirely unlicensed SPSV and be able to simply go back out on the road if they have the gall to do so? Why are insurance companies not contacted about this because we must remember that anybody who employs the services of an unregistered operator will not be covered by insurance should the vehicle be involved in an incident. How come that after being prosecuted they can get right back into the car and carry on as normal? If the consequences for acting illegally do not act as a deterrent, they will not deter others from the practice. It is as simple as that. Both the Garda and the NTA have a significant role to play here but when it comes to gardaí and the resources and time they are given to carry out an operation, they may as well stay at home for what they are getting.
The problem appears to be that the Department and the NTA seem to be working under the assumption that the way the issue has been dealt with for numerous years is working and that no more needs to be done. That is clearly not the case. In addition to the questions I posed earlier, is the Department aware of the number of calls coming into the NTA? Is it also aware of the level of dissatisfaction in the sector about how the issue is being dealt with? Is the Department itself exploring any other measures to effectively deal with, and deter, illegal operators and to protect the livelihoods of operators?
Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter regarding the ongoing challenges to the taxi industry posed by illegal operators, which I will answer on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The regulation of the SPSV industry, including enforcement and compliance in the SPSV sector, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the NTA, under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Acts, 2013 and 2016. The Minister for Transport has no role in the day-to day operations of the small public service vehicles sector. The NTA, as regulator, sets the standards and requirements for the SPSV sector which include rules about vehicle standards, suitability of drivers, and insurance requirements. It also enforces legislation related to SPSVs sector which includes taxis, hackneys and limousines. Taxis and taxi drivers must be fully licensed. The NTA has 20 compliance officers, spread across the country working for the benefit of the industry and the travelling public, and who are empowered to investigate complaints. Separately, all members of An Garda Síochána are empowered to investigate offences under the legislation. The NTA does not have statistics on the numbers of unlicensed SPSV operators encountered and dealt with by Gardaí. To successfully detect and prosecute those operating without any SPSV licences, Garda assistance is required. There is a lot of co-ordination between the two State organisations. Any communications received by the Minister or by his Department regarding illegal operators in the taxi industry are sent to the NTA for investigation by its enforcement team. In 2022, NTA compliance officers recorded more than 200,000 checks of SPSVs where each officer has a handheld, roadside app to check vehicles. The NTA also recorded more than 12,400 audits of SPSVs, where more detailed inspections were carried out. NTA compliance activity resulted in 655 fixed payment notices being issued in 2022 and 146 prosecutions at the District Court.
I understand that in most instances, illegal operators use vehicles that are not displaying any SPSV identification and offer their illegal services through social media or directly through a venue within a city, town or village. These are not taxi services, but are prebooked, private hire services. With any allegation of an unlicensed SPSV service, information is received, assessed in terms of evidence and acted upon wherever possible by NTA compliance officers or members of An Garda Síochána.
For a successful prosecution, there must be evidence that the individual is operating for hire or reward and, therefore, evidence of payment must be presented to the court. The NTA, with the assistance of An Garda Síochána, has undertaken numerous covert operations to detect and apprehend offenders. This has included the detection of offenders operating from outside the jurisdiction through social media, and also offenders offering services solely in foreign languages. The operations to detect and apprehend the offenders are covert, often complex and may take some time to conclude. The evidential threshold for prosecuting these cases is, as it is with all criminal prosecutions, high. All reports of illegal operators are investigated but not all reveal that offences are being committed. In addition to undertaking covert activity, if evidence is provided by those reporting the allegation, including evidence that the service is being provided for hire or reward, the matter will be prosecuted based upon the evidence provided by the person reporting it.
10:30 pm
Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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As I said earlier, this is nothing we have not heard before from the Minister. The only thing that is different, which I have in front of me from the Minister and the NTA, is there were only 54 prosecutions last year. In his reply, the Minister of State said that this figure has gone up to 65 fixed penalty payment notices and 146 prosecutions. I do not know who is doing the maths in the Department of Transport but 146 is a long way away from 54.
The same thing is being done year after year but it has not worked. Taxi drivers will tell you that. Thousands of jobs are at risk because of the inaction of the Minister. He can reply that he is not involved in day-to-day operations. Maybe it is time he got involved in them and started trying to get those who are doing this prosecuted and save the jobs of the thousands of people we are talking about. It is fine saying that An Garda Síochána has handheld cameras but it and the NTA will say that the funding is not there for them to implement that kind of system. I ask the Minister of State to take back to the Minister the message that he needs to get more involved and engage more with the sector, An Garda Síochána and the NTA.
We have been informed that some of the larger hotel groups are using unauthorised taxis for airport runs. Perhaps this is something the Minister can get involved in. I urge the Minister of State to take back to the Minister the message that unless he adopts a hands-on approach, I and others will be back in this House talking about the same thing over and over again.
Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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A total of 65 fixed penalty payment notices were issued in 2022 and 146 prosecutions were taken at the District Court. In 2022, the NTA initiated 54 prosecutions of individuals operating an entirely unlicensed SPSV service without either an SPSV driver licence or a vehicle licence. This was in addition to its prosecution of persons operating on expired SPSV licences. I am informed that,to date this year, 30 files have been submitted for consideration of prosecution of those having no SPSV licences, which is a separate issue, along with those operating on expired licences. I hope this clarifies the matter.
The regulation of the industry, enforcement and compliance is a matter for the NTA. On reading the script, I see how complicated it is to get a successful prosecution because we are relying on the person to come forward and give evidence of proof of payment and not alone have to make the initial complaint but also make a statement to An Garda Síochána or the NTA and be willing to give evidence in court if called upon. That is a complicated process and I can understand why the number of prosecutions is so low. I do not know whether that can be dealt with in some other way but I can see why the rate of prosecutions is quite low. Once someone is before the court in respect of a criminal offence, he or she is entitled to contest the evidence against him or her. The NTA can only bring a case where it has evidence. Otherwise, it will lose that case. I thank the Deputy for highlighting the matter again and I will speak to the Minister for Transport at the first opportunity.