Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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352. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to provide specific support to the taxi industry in circumstances in which many taxi owners cannot trade and their revenue streams are depleted; if he has considered a waiver of the fee for renewal of a taxi licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19194/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the opportunity to draw his attention to the fact that my Department has funded the waiver of vehicle licence renewal fees for 2021. As vehicle licences are renewed annually, this is a measure which will benefit all SPSV vehicle licence holders.

I recognise that COVID-19 has had a profound impact on small businesses across the country with the public transport sector being especially affected as public health restrictions have necessarily discouraged people from travelling generally. Taxi and other small public service vehicle (SPSV) operators, who are particularly dependent on the hospitality and tourism sectors, have faced a particularly pronounced drop in demand for their services.

It is in recognition of these difficulties that the Government has introduced a wide-ranging programme of supports with broad eligibility criteria for individuals and businesses which have been adversely affected by COVID-19. Many of these supports can be accessed by self-employed taxi drivers including liquidity and investment measures from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as well as the Enterprise Support Grant and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) from the Department of Social Protection.

Self-employed recipients of the PUP, like SPSV drivers, can also avail of the Self-Employment Income Scheme which provides for an income disregard for the first €960 earned in a given 8-week period. Individuals exiting the PUP may also avail of the COVID-19 Enterprise Support Grant, a once-off grant of up to €1,000 which can be used towards the costs associated with reopening a business, including the purchase of cleaning materials and personal protective equipment.

I remain committed to supporting the transition of the SPSV towards zero/low-emission vehicles and I have increased the funding available to the Electric SPSV (eSPSV) grant scheme from €1 million in 2020 to €15 million in 2021. Furthermore, in view of the particular challenges faced by operators of older vehicles, I have doubled the amount payable under the scheme to €20,000 for operators who scrap older vehicles and make the switch to full electric models. Additional amounts are available for those switching to vehicles which are both electric and wheelchair accessible. There has been a strong interest in the revised scheme since its launch in February with over 300 applications received to date.