Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 17 introduces a new section to the Bill that places an obligation on an applicant for or holder of a licence to drive a special public service vehicle, SPSV, to inform the licensing authority of any other occupation of his or hers involving driving vehicles and so on.

This amendment derives from a recommendation under action 3 of the taxi regulation review report 2011 which aims to ensure in the case of part-time drivers, that there is improved compliance with working time legislation. Senators will recall that this issue came under the spotlight in the "Prime Time Investigates" programme in May 2011, whereby part-time SPSV drivers were found to be engaged in other employment, driving public service vehicles and were driving excessively long hours at a risk to the safety of passengers, to themselves and to other road users. This is a very serious issue.

This new section provides for a system of notification to the NTA by SPSV driver licence applicants or holders concerning their alternative employment, involving driving. The licensing authority, where it is considered appropriate and necessary, can attach conditions to the licence which relate to the permitted SPSV driving hours. The amendment also provides for a related offence concerning breaches of the permitted driving hours attached to a licence and powers for authorised persons to request an SPSV driver to cease driving if the authorised persons consider that the SPSV driver is in breach of the permitted driving hours as well as powers for members of An Garda Síochána to arrest without warrant an SPSV driver who fails to comply with such a request of an authorised person.

Amendment No. 29 provides that the NTA can make regulations concerning the display of signage indicating the permitted driving hours under the new section 11 for the purposes of identification and enforcement. Amendment No. 45 provides that the offence under section 11(7) for non-compliance with the permitted driving hours requirements is a specified demerit offence for the purposes of Part V of the Bill.