Seanad debates
Friday, 27 June 2003
Taxi Regulation Bill 2003: Second Stage.
The primary element is the issuance of licences. There has been a great deal of public debate, and Senator Browne has raised this as well, about the type of people who should or should not get licences. Some comments have in my view been orchestrated, perhaps by vested interests, regarding the so-called criminal element that has infiltrated the taxi business in the aftermath of deregulation. I do not think it is higher now than it ever was. We have heard recently that one in five taxi drivers has a criminal record. That might be disturbing to some people, but we have to be careful. If we are to be fair, somebody who has had a conviction in the past has more than likely served their sentence, and people who are making an honest attempt to get their lives back on track should not be regulated against.
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