Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not often that I find myself slightly disagreeing with my good friend and the most eminent transport economist in the country. In terms of wheelchair accessible taxis and the comparison with Lidl or Aldi, if Lidl or Aldi open a new store, it must be wheelchair accessible and disability-friendly. While I concur that new entrants into the taxi business should have accessible cars, it should not be cost punitive. There should be some sort of a tax rebate scheme for taxi drivers entering the taxi business where they are required to have accessible vehicles.

The taxi industry was deregulated in 2000 when one could not get a taxi for love or money on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night. I was living in Donnybrook at the time and I remember if one went into the city centre at night and if there was rain or snow, one had to walk home because there were no taxis. The taxi industry was to blame for Bobby Molloy's decision to deregulate because no agreement proposed by the Government at the time was acceptable to the leaders of the taxi unions. At one stage, it proposed that it would give a free plate to everyone with a taxi plate in Dublin but that was not agreed to. The Government made the right decision to deregulate the taxi industry.

That said, deregulation has probably gone too far. Approximately, six months ago I was out in Dublin on a Saturday night and Dawson Street was littered with taxis at 1 a.m. We have the other extreme now where taxi drivers are finding it hard to make a living. What the Minister of State proposes in this legislation is what we assumed was already in existence in the taxi business. What is he is doing is effectively bringing in a set of common sense proposals to ensure that the business is tidied up. It is quite shocking that 6,000 PSV licence holders have some form of criminal conviction, granted many of those convictions are for minor offences, such as road traffic offences. However, a proportion of convictions are possibly for more serious offences.

When people get into taxis to go home at night, they must have confidence that the person driving them is fit to be behind the wheel of a public service vehicle. It is reasonable for the public to assume the Government has regulations in place to ensure, where possible, the person behind the wheel of a taxi driving somebody home, who is perhaps in a vulnerable state, is fit to be in that position and it is a disgrace if we cannot stand over that. However, this legislation will ensure we will be in a position to stand over the people driving taxis.

Probably more than anybody else in this House, I use taxis on a regular basis. I was in a taxi coming to Leinster House from Heuston Station on Monday evening and the taxi driver said the largest fine for somebody who produces false identification when inspected is ¤250. Thankfully, this legislation will deal comprehensively with that type of scenario.

The taxi business has a very bright future. We must ensure that the travelling public not only travels in safety but in comfort. I applaud the Minister of State's initiatives in terms of ensuring vehicles are up to standard and the penalty point-type system proposed in that after a number of offences, a person will lose his or her PSV licence.

That is a great incentive to ensure that PSV licence holders do the right thing. It will ensure that they provide the best possible service and in the best possible vehicle. In this day and age nobody expects to be driven around in new 131 or 132 registered cars all of the time. A person who is paying to be driven from A to B has a legitimate expectation that the vehicle is comfortable and safe.

The Minister of State does not have an easy job. I have no doubt that the taxi unions are not the easiest people in the world to deal with and they have an inflated sense of expectation. However, there are thousands of genuine and hardworking taxi drivers who want to do the right thing and go out every day with the best intention to provide a good service in a safe vehicle and earn an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. I want to see the industry protected for the sake of those people. I have no doubt that we will have to introduce further legislation for the sector. I will wait and see how the current legislation transcends into reality. Obviously its enforcement element is extremely important. I am delighted to note that the Minister of State has made provisions to ensure that the legislation is enforced because, as we all know, legislation is no use unless it is enforced. I wish him well and applaud the legislation.