Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 26:

In page 19, subsection (1), line 41, after ?the? to insert ?quality?.

This amendment seeks to allay fears that this is not the reintroduction of quantity licensing by other devices. It is important for it to be seen that this is not the reintroduction of the system which was overturned by the High Court in four decisions; the notable one was in 2000. We already have evidence that this is the way the Department is thinking and working.

SI 250 of 2010 raised the entry barrier of capital costs by between 65% and 91% by requiring new entrants but not the incumbents to have wheelchair-accessible vehicles. In addition, the variable costs added 27% to the fuel. The Department really must prove to Members that it is not trying to restore the value of licences. It has already done so as in the editions of the Evening Heraldpublished last night and last Thursday night, more than 30 plates appeared for sale. The decision of the High Court was that one would not have such a restoration. Given that what is happening in this Bill is being interpreted as the reintroduction of quantity licensing and not the retention and development of quality licensing, there is a market for such pieces of paper, with 30 of them being advertised in the Evening Herald every night. One man last night had seven or eight of them for sale. This leads to the position that obtained previously in which licences have a value, the holders of those licences protect that value and successfully lobby a fairly compliant Department, such as the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, to stop new entry as they did in 2010 with the aforementioned statutory instrument. It is very important at this point to clarify whether the Minister of State is, as I believe, introducing quantity licensing to contravene a High Court decision. The Minister of State should allay fears in this regard by stating this refers only to quality licensing. The previous system led to troubles and difficulties that everyone encountered. There was a highly successful deregulation, which was widely commented on in the Goodbody report as having generated approximately ¤780 million worth of time savings each year. We are in danger of sleep-walking back to the previous system unless this amendment is accepted.