Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In fairness, other Senators before me have made general statements on public transport. If the Chair wishes I will turn to specifics regarding taxi drivers where many issues have been raised. Particularly in Galway the ongoing issues of decals and older cars have been raised with me. Senator Mooney has correctly noticed some of the wonderful cars in New York and London, the black cabs, etc., many of which are more than ten years old, whereas we have gone to a regime whereby cars of a certain age are decommissioned. I know some people who had very good-quality, high-end taxis, for example, BMWs or Mercedes, and who have had to trade them in because of the new regulations. The cars were passing all the tests so the drivers felt that this was a very strange thing to have to do. They also find that decals are making them a target when they leave the cars at home at night. There is the issue of them being a target for burglary, but also where somebody is dependent on the car for private use, he or she cannot have a dual use. It has to be only a taxi. I have been given the example of the wife of a taxi driver wanting to take the car to do the shopping, but the car is then seen as a taxi and she is given hassle in shopping centres. This is a very practical issue.

A more serious issue in Galway concerns regulations. These appear to be applied on a nine-to-five basis whereas most of the infringements by taxi drivers who are not playing by the rules happen after hours.It is difficult to get the regulator to deal with issues such as taxis pulling up outside pubs where there is no official rank; drivers jumping rank and vehicles being driven by people who should not be driving them. These are the types of issue that are being raised with me on a continual basis. While I had hoped these issues would be addressed in the context of this legislation, that does not appear to be the case.

We welcome the new fixed payment notice charges. We need to ensure that in regulating taxi drivers, punishing wrongdoing and upholding standards we do not mistreat a group of hard working people who are trying to make a living and contributing to the public transport network with good levels of efficiency. The recent removal across the State of taxi ranks and the failure to provide alternatives are not acceptable. We need taxis in towns and cities and drivers to be able to ply for hire at ranks. Construction work is part of a living, breathing city, but drivers have been uprooted by these works without much consideration being given to their needs in providing a service. We need ranks for taxi drivers and where the customers are. I understand this is often the role of the local authority, but it is not always easy for councils to respond in situations where there are such major works.

The regulation and vetting of taxi drivers are essential in the development of a strong, safe service for the public. However, while regulation is an obvious necessity, we must ensure it does not take place unfairly and impact unjustly on hard-working people who are trying to make a living. On the utterly discriminatory attacks on the livelihoods of taxi drivers convicted of offences related to the conflict in the northern part of the country which raged from the 1960s to 2005, I remind the Government that under the Good Friday Agreement, republican and loyalist former prisoners are not to be discriminated against or barred from employment, yet the Bill seeks to do just that. Drivers who have worked for decades, contributed to the State and provided a quality service without a problem have recently received letters informing them that they will not be allowed to renew their licences. Sinn Féin will be working with such drivers to challenge this disproportionate attack on their right to make a living.

The Rail Safety Act 2005 makes reference to fostering greater competition. We struggle to imagine how, in practical terms, various private railway companies operating on the same railway lines will improve efficiency. Perhaps the Minister might comment on this issue. This practice evades the innate practical advantage that is a natural monopoly. Sinn Féin believes competition should not be the absolute priority as a means of achieving high quality transport services, as it does not. Instead, the focus ought to be on the reliability of provision and price stability. The only competition should be between public transport services competing with private cars as the best way to commute and socialise.

I would welcome the Minister's thoughts on the many issues I have raised, particularly those to do with the taxi industry.