Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 28:

In page 21, subsection (1)(a), to delete lines 37 to 39.

This relates to the concern we have expressed in these debates of area licensing being reintroduced. The section states "the areas or locations where the drivers of small public service vehicles may carry on activities of operating small public service vehicles;". Perhaps the Minster of State may come back to this on Report Stage. Does it refer to where the cab rank is located or does it refer to areas of operation?

The Minister of State said previously that in his experience in Tipperary, taxi deregulation had been unsuccessful, there was a shortage and there may be a need to reintroduce area licensing. We did some homework and the Minister of State is right in that Tipperary and Monaghan are the two counties where taxi deregulation had the least impact. If he was in Limerick or any of the other counties in the State, instead of there being 394 SPSVs, there would be more than 600 small public service vehicles. The population per taxi in Tipperary is 4,028 and there are plenty of counties where the figure is half that. I do not know why deregulation did not work in Tipperary. Perhaps people in Ballina get a taxi from Killaloe. In the rest of the State, except Monaghan, deregulation was an astonishing success with all the benefits that Goodbody found. If area licensing in this section refers to the location of the ranks, that is fine, but if it refers to a reintroduction of limits on where taxis can operate, I would oppose it.