Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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532. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of public service vehicle, PSV, licences active from 2009 to 2016 to date; the percentage of persons who passed the recently introduced PSV licence exam; if he has considered modifying the exam to help persons with a disability pass while not diminishing standards; his views that areas will be left without a taxi service as fewer people qualify for the job and people are prohibited from working in excess of eight hours consecutively; and the action he will take in conjunction with the Minister for Finance to tackle the high cost of insurance for the sector. [18527/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013, so I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply as regards the SPSV regulatory aspects. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within 10 working days.

In relation to the Deputy's query about insurance costs for the SPSV sector, he may recall that during a Dáil debate on a private members motion on motor insurance earlier this month, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Eoghan Murphy T.D., advised the House that the cost of insurance to taxi and hackney drivers will be included in the issues to be addressed by the task force established by the Minister for Finance to review policy in the insurance sector. That task force will examine all issues relating to insurance policy, in consultation with bodies such as the Central Bank, Departments, and other stakeholders, and the cost of insurance will be a particular focus of the review.

For my part, I am confident that the implementation of the actions set out in the Road Safety Strategy 2013-2020 will, over time, lead to a reduction in road traffic collisions, fatalities and injuries and should make an important contribution to reducing the cost of motor insurance.  My Department has been pursuing for some time the establishment of a properly functioning motor insurance database with the insurance industry here to show who is insured and who is not. Such a database would facilitate enforcement by An Garda Síochána, and could make a significant contribution towards reducing the level of uninsured driving in Ireland, which costs the industry and insured drivers here €50 to €60 million approximately per annum.