Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 314: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will undertake an evaluation of the implementation of the Taxi Regulation Act 2003; if he will consider the present level of service, the entry requirements for taxi operators, the qualifying requirements for the public service vehicle licence and limiting the numbers of full-time or part-time drivers entering the business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14263/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Commission for Taxi Regulation was established under the Taxi Regulation Act 2003 and is the independent public body responsible for the development and maintenance of the regulatory framework for the control and operation of small public service vehicles, taxis, hackneys and limousines, and their drivers. Many of the issues raised in the question relate to the day-to-day responsibilities and actions of the Commission for Taxi Regulation in accordance with its principal function and objectives under the 2003 Act. Under the Act, the Commission has specific regulatory powers in relation to a range of issues including issues of quality and level of service, and entry requirements for licence applicants generally. I also understand from the Commission that it proposes to undertake an economic review of the small public service vehicle industry later in 2008.

Insofar as limits on the numbers of licence applicants are concerned, the October 2000 High Court judgement which led to taxi liberalisation created the legal position that limitation of taxi licences in the interests of existing licence holders could not be sustained. Regulations made in November 2000 responded to the new legal situation established by reference to the decision of the High Court. Subsequently, the Taxi Regulation Act 2003, which provides the legislative basis for the licensing and operation of small public service vehicles generally, does not provide a basis for the application of quantitative controls on the issue of licences for any such vehicles.