Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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90. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will grant a further extension to the vehicle registration licence time limit for the replacement of taxi vehicles given the lack of availability of electric vehicles currently and the substantial loss of earnings for taxi drivers over the past two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30731/22]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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107. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department is considering easing the restrictions on the age of vehicle requirement for taxi drivers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30654/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 107 together.

The regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) sector, including vehicle age limits for SPSVs, is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013. 

In this regard, the Deputy should be aware that the NTA extended vehicle age limits several times during the COVID-19 pandemic, with standard age limits for taxis and hackneys now waived through to the end of 2022, thereby ensuring no operator exits the industry simply because of the need to replace a vehicle. 

The NTA's extensions of vehicle age limits were taken as emergency measures in recognition of the challenges occasioned by COVID-19, including the necessary health-related restrictions imposed on the economy and society in general, and the resultant collapse in demand for SPSV services during the height of the pandemic.  This situation is now very much changed and there has been a resurgence in demand for these services with increased levels of social activity and a reactivation of the night-time economy. 

As the deputy will be aware, the ten-year rule was recommended by the 2011 Taxi Regulation Review and came about following a public consultation on vehicle standards for taxis, hackneys and limousines, held that year. It was adopted in recognition of the need to strike a balance between achieving standards that offer the customer confidence, comfort and safety, and allowing industry members to operate successfully, cognisant of the fact that the replacement of a vehicle is a SPSV operator's single largest cost. 

Taking account of all these factors, there is no consideration being given to amending these age-related rules now, or again in the future.

At the same time, there continue to be supports available to drivers who wish to change their vehicles.

As part of my commitment to supporting the transition of the SPSV fleet towards zero/low-emission vehicles and the ‘greening ‘ of the SPSV sector, I put in place the electric small public service vehicle (eSPSV) grant scheme. The Scheme is funded by my Department and administered by the NTA.  The SPSV industry is regarded as a champion in the normalisation of electric vehicle use, and €15m was allocated in 2022 to support the industry to switch to electric.  The Scheme is kept under continuous review and is currently paused to allow for the drawdown and payment of provisional grant offers. When these grant offers are drawn down, there will be a clearer picture of the funding available for the second half of the year. At this stage, I anticipate that the Scheme will re-open for applications during the summer, allowing SPSV operators to once again apply for the supports on offer.

At the same time, Microfinance Ireland is still providing the so-called eSPSV Business Loan, which is available to support SPSV owners that are unable to secure finance from banks and asset finance providers and are availing of the eSPSV Grant Scheme to replace their vehicle with a more sustainable model (electric/hybrid).  These loans range from €5,000 to €25,000, with a fixed interest rate of 4.5% if submitted through a Local Enterprise Office, and with no additional fees or charges.

The availability of electric vehicles is unpredictable because of the ongoing difficulties with global vehicle production. The reasons for the vehicle supply shortages are varied, but it is largely centred on the effects of the pandemic. All vehicle production was shut down in the early stages of the pandemic, and an ongoing worldwide microprocessor shortage in the automotive sector is contributing to further delays in restoring vehicle production back to pre-pandemic levels. It has been reported that the shortage of microprocessors is unlikely to end soon, and automotive industry leaders have advised the issue will continue through 2022 and possibly even 2023. Since microprocessors are required for all vehicle production, so the shortage will equally affect the supply of petrol/diesel powered vehicles, and electric vehicles.

Finally, the deputy will be aware of the NTA’s recent proposal to introduce an average increase of 12% on taxi fares from 31st August 2022 as a result of the National Maximum Fares Review, which closed for public consultation on May 27th last.  This would be the first increase on such fares since 2017.  

The approach taken by the NTA has been to weight the proposed increase in favour of the periods in which the premium hour rate may be charged by drivers, i.e. between 8pm and 8am or on Sundays / public holidays.  As already mentioned, there has been a large upswing in demand for taxi services, particularly for servicing the night-time economy and, while drivers are obviously free to choose their own hours of operation, the proposal to increase taxi fares, with a weighting towards the premium rate periods, is designed to encourage more taxi drivers to operate during those times, thus increasing their income, as well as the availability of taxis to passengers nationally.