Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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833. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to introduce a compensation scheme for taxi drivers who lost substantial value on their licence following the deregulation of the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22232/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The taxi industry is not deregulated but is regulated by the National Transport Authority under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013.

The taxi market was liberalised some 16 years ago in 2000 with the removal of quantitative restrictions.

The Deputy may be aware that, following this, a Taxi Hardship Payments Scheme was established in 2003 on foot of recommendations of the Taxi Hardship Panel for a scheme to provide payments to individual taxi licence holders who fell into one of six categories that the Panel assessed as having suffered extreme personal financial hardship arising from taxi liberalisation. The Scheme involved payments ranging from €3,000 to €15,000 depending on the category of hardship involved, the final date for receipt of applications was 24 September 2004 and hardship payments totalling €17,449,000 were made to qualifying applicants between December 2003 and the final payments in 2005. Payments made under the Scheme were hardship payments and not "compensation".

I have no plans to introduce a compensation scheme for taxi drivers.