Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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182. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will consider a package of measures to support taxi drivers, particularly owner-operators, given the impact of inflation on them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9172/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the majority of supports for SPSV operators that were put in place in response to the impacts of the Covid pandemic continue to be available. These supports comprise specific measures designed to support the sector, with a view to addressing statutory costs faced by operators which cannot be deferred. Standard licence renewal fees for SPSVs were waived in 2021 and are being waived again in 2022 at an estimated cost of €3 million. The NTA has put in place schemes to refund the motor tax paid by SPSV operators in the period 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022, and to waive NCT fees for the same period. Further details on these schemes are available on the NTA website. The NTA has also waived standard age limits for taxis and hackneys through to the end of 2022, thereby ensuring no operator exits the industry simply because of the need to replace a vehicle.

Recognising that the replacement of a vehicle is the single largest cost faced by any SPSV operator, and in view of my commitment to support the transition of the SPSV fleet towards zero/low-emission vehicles, I announced on February 4th last, the re-opening of the eSPSV Grant Scheme, with a further €15 million allocated to it for 2022. The take-up rate for this Scheme was exceptionally high in 2021: almost 600 drivers successfully applied for grants, with over €11 million paid out as well as €4 million in provisional grant offers.

In addition, the Deputy should be aware that the NTA has now started work on a new National Maximum Fare Review and is engaging with its service providers in the matter. This Review, which is undertaken on a regular basis by the NTA, assesses any changes in the market facing the taxi industry as well as changes in annual taxi operating costs. These costs include the fixed and running costs of an average taxi and labour costs. The objective of the Review is to determine whether changes need to be made to the current level of maximum fares and the NTA has confirmed that it is endeavouring to conclude the review process as quickly as possible in 2022 whilst still ensuring that all steps, including a consultation process, are appropriately completed.

More generally, in relation to recent price increases and their impact on consumers, Government announced a suite of policy measures designed to support all households on February 10th. These measures take account of the increase in consumer prices in recent months, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices and come on top of the measures already taken in Budget 2022 to support households – such as increases in social welfare rates as well as increases in tax bands, and also the electricity credit for households which the Government agreed on last year in recognition of the impact of rising energy costs.