Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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25. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps that he intends taking to support the taxi industry in view of the unprecedented rise in overhead costs over the past two years, and the lack of taxis in many parts of the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55879/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy may be aware, both my Department and the National Transport Authority have taken a number of steps since the onset of Covid-19, to support taxi drivers nationally, these steps include - 

- The Maximum Fares Order 2022 which took effect on 1 September last.  Increases in fares are weighted in favour of those drives working at unsocial hours, such as nights and bank holidays. The increase has been designed so as to encourage more drivers to operate during these periods and also encourage drivers who may still not have come back since the pandemic, to re-activate their license.

- I allocated €15m to the eSPSV Grant Scheme this year which supports drivers in their transition to zero / low emission vehicles. The number of eSPSV grants administered has been encouraging, with 1,100 grants paid between the beginning of the scheme in 2018 to the end of October 2022, with associated funding of €19,775,500.  In Budget 2023, I again secured €15m to be administered under the Scheme. 

- The eSPSV business loan provided by Microfinance Ireland is in place to support those SPSV owners accessing the eSPSV Grant Scheme, but who are unable to secure finance from financial institutions.

- The NTA’s proposal to temporarily extend the maximum permissible age for taxis and hackneys with a current final operation date in 2023 and 2024, such that no current vehicle licence holder is forced out of the industry because a replacement vehicle cannot be purchased. The NTA ran a public consultation on this proposal from 19 September until 12 October 2022. If approved by the NTA Board, the new Regulations will be in place before the end of the year.

- Government’s reduction in fuel related duties, which is now extended until end of February 2023.

- The NTA’s launch of a driver recruitment campaign this summer to promote the sector as a place of employment for people. It is hoped that the expected increase in the number of drivers following this campaign, will impact the numbers available to work during the early hours of the morning, particularly at weekends.

My Department and the NTA are supporting, and will continue to support, the business costs of the SPSV sector, as needed.