Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Following the debate on Committee Stage, the Attorney General's office reviewed section 11 concerning the obligation of applicants or the holders of a licence to drive SPSVs to inform licensing authorities of any additional occupation involving the use of driving licences etc. While the policy principle underpinning the section concerning the regulation of SPSV drivers is to ensure passenger and road safety, some aspects of section 11, depending on how it is interpreted and applied, could give rise to a legal challenge concerning a person's rights. Furthermore, targeting the provision wider than road vehicles gives rise to a level of complexity not required to address the core policy objective of passenger and road safety.

I thank Senator Sean D. Barrett for his contribution on Committee Stage during which he raised concerns about the application of section 11, which I have considered. I also thank other Senators for their contributions. The amended section 11 will oblige a licence holder or an applicant to inform the licensing authority and give evidence of other employments, thereby putting the NTA on notice that a licence holder has another occupation. The amended section will be limited to occupations which involve driving vehicles. It will relate to the powers of the NTa under section 17(1)(a) to make SPSV regulations concerning the period of time a driver may drive an SPSV, which applies to both whole-time and part-time taxi drivers and the intervals of rest between driving an SPSV and another vehicle in the course of another occupation.