Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 386: To ask the Minister for Transport when the taxi regulator will provide funding for the provision of taxi ranks throughout the country; if his Department will provide extra funding through a grant scheme to underpin such funding; the amount of funding available to the regulator; if this funding is to be determined on a [i]pro rata[/i] basis in relation to the areas and the number of taxis in each area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34382/07]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Decisions regarding the location and operation of taxi ranks on public roads are matters for consideration by the relevant local authority. Under section 84 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as substituted by section 15 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 and amended by section 42(10) of the Taxi Regulation Act 2003, a local authority is empowered to make bye-laws in respect of any specified area in its functional area appointing the places at which taxis may stand for hire. The making of such bye-laws is a reserved function of a local authority.

The provision of funding for taxi ranks is primarily a matter for local authorities. My Department does not provide specific grants to local authorities for the provision of taxi ranks on non-national roads. However, it is open to local authorities to use discretionary improvement or block grants allocated to them for various eligible works on regional and local roads, including traffic management schemes and the provision of road traffic signs, including regulatory road markings for taxi ranks. Decisions regarding the works to be funded from discretionary grants are matters for local authorities.

The Commission for Taxi Regulation is an independent statutory body whose main source of funding is licence fees in respect of small public service vehicles. The Commission for Taxi Regulation does not receive any funding directly from the Exchequer. Decisions regarding the use of licence fee revenue are primarily a matter for the Commission in the discharge of its functions under the Taxi Regulation Act 2003.