Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of my amendment, Seanad Report Stage amendment No. 4, is to ensure that the authority ensures that passengers do not face a shortage of licensed public service vehicles thus reducing the potential market for unlicensed operators. It goes back to the earlier point that regulatory capture does take place. We put up bans on new entrants because the incumbents are always more powerful than new entrants. One creates a market for the outsiders. There has been a blanket ban on new entry to this sector since 2010. Should it not be part of the brief for the authority with advice from people like the Minister of State to note that tourism is starting to increase and that consumer expenditure is growing? We have taken about 5,000 taxis out of the business since 2010. I know the Minister of State does not want the licence value to increase either. The longer we delay the prospect of new entry, the greater the demand for unlicensed people who say they can make money from this business because there are never any taxis in location X, Y and Z and who will try to get into it. I am concerned the 2010 statutory instrument which was not debated in the House, which is still in force, makes incumbents high-cost and ignores the services for customers. This is why the court cases were won in the first instance in 2000. How can we ensure that there is no market for the unlicensed operators the Minister of State is trying to keep out? How can we stop pressures from incumbents to keep banning new entrants? In Paul Gorecki's latest article, he states that he is seriously concerned about that. He wonders whether there was ever excess supply. The longer the Minister of State delays this decision, the more the licences acquire a value so people stay in the industry hoping they will be able to sell the licence.

My amendment deals with how we facilitate new entrants and I would be very interested to hear about when we can expect new licences to be issued again and how can we ensure there is an adequate supply to prevent the licence value increasing, which the Minister of State is against, and to prevent the growth of unlicensed operators, which the Minister of State is also against?