Written answers

Tuesday, 28 June 2022

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Public Transport

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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168. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to allow a company (details supplied) to operate in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33568/22]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Small public service vehicles (SPSVs) are regulated in Ireland by the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA).  I can inform the Deputy that Uber has operated in Ireland since 2014, and as it is considered a transport service which offers the carriage of passengers for reward, it is subject to the same regulations. The NTA has licensed Uber as a dispatch operator. Dispatch operators are required to only provide bookings to SPSV licenced drivers using SPSV licensed vehicles.   A fundamental tenet of Ireland’s SPSV regulatory regime is that only SPSV licenced drivers and vehicles are used for the carriage of passengers for reward.   

I met with Uber representatives on 10th June last.  Uber is satisfied with the regulatory structure of the SPSV industry in Ireland, as it’s clear to the company how it can legally operate here.  

The regulatory framework for SPSVs in Ireland requires that all drivers and vehicles are licensed, as a means of protecting the consumer and helping ensure public safety Furthermore, no special regulations have been developed to govern the carriage of passengers by passenger cars, which are not SPSVs.  Therefore, the classic Uber model where anyone with a car and the Uber App can provide taxi services does not exist here.

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