David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 313: To ask the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 108 of 10 February 2010, when he plans to reach a decision on the proposals to improve taxi services for persons with disabilities submitted by the Commision for Taxi Regulation to his Department to incentivise the upgrading of the wheelchair accessible fleet in view of the new standards for accessible taxis; his further plans to introduce subsidies to allow for the upgrading of wheelchair accessible taxis and hackneys in view of the already low base of accessible vehicles in operation; the funding he plans to make available under the subsidy scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20350/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The proposal by the Commission for Taxi Regulation (CTR) for a scheme to incentivise the provision of wheelchair accessible taxis and hackneys is currently being considered by the National Transport Authority (NTA) given its wider public transport remit and in terms of the options for future funding of the proposed scheme. Among the potential funding options to be considered include the use of surplus funds held by the Commission, Transport 21 accessibility funding currently held within the NTA purse or a combination of both.

Officials from my Department will be meeting with both the NTA and the CTR in the coming week to discuss these options and I will consider the CTR proposals within the context of these deliberations and within the overall public transport priorities.