Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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361. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of small public service vehicles currently licensed which are due to reach the ten-year maximum permissible age limit in each of the next three years; and if he will indicate the number of active drivers this will affect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59060/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including the collection and publication of statistics regarding the SPSV sector, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Consolidated Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016. I have no role in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV sector.

Accordingly, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within 10 working days.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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362. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the financial or structural supports which are currently in place to assist taxi drivers whose vehicles are due to be decommissioned under the 10-year age rule; if further mitigation measures are under consideration to avoid large numbers of drivers being forced off the road in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59061/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Consolidated Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016. I have no role in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV sector.

The NTA as the statutory, independent, regulator made regulations in 2010 that established a maximum permissible age of 10 years for new standard taxis and hackneys. The ten-year rule 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.

The Consolidated Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016 require the NTA to seek to promote the provision and maintenance of quality services by SPSVs and their drivers. The Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 continued the age limit for taxis and hackneys as, in general, less than 10 years old, and always of a condition and quality suitable to provide SPSV services. Wheelchair accessible taxis and wheelchair accessible hackneys can operate up to 15-years old. No maximum age is set for limousines due to the vintage nature of many of these vehicles and their reduced mileage, due to their ceremonial and prestigious roles.

The NTA's extension of age limits during Covid-19 was an emergency measure of a temporary nature, taken in recognition of the particular challenges posed by the pandemic and was specifically aimed at ensuring that no operator would be required to change their vehicle while passenger demand remained low, and there was a lack of suitable vehicles available for purchase. This is no longer the case.

Although passenger usage returned to pre-Covid-19 levels in mid-2022, the year brought new challenges in relation to replacement vehicle supply in Ireland. Climate, energy and geopolitical challenges in particular, made it difficult for all end-of-life taxis and hackneys to be replaced in 2022 and beyond. As a result, and following a public consultation, the NTA Board enacted Regulations which permitted taxis and hackneys with a final operation date between 2020 and 2024 to operate for a period beyond the maximum permissible age once all other licensing requirements continued to be met.

Those Regulations took effect on 18 November 2022 and provided for maximum age extensions of 36 to 60 months, depending on the original final year of operation of the impacted vehicle. From Jan 1st, 2028, all the extensions provided for under the 2022 Regulations will have ended.

One of the consequences of the 2022 Regulations was that taxis first registered in 2012, 2013 and 2014 could operate longer than those first registered in 2015. In line with the Programme for Government 2025 commitment to 'extend the ten-year vehicle limit for taxis registered in 2015, offering another year of service', the NTA introduced a new Regulation which took effect from 1 April 2025. This largely addresses this anomaly, allowing 2015 taxis an additional year of operation, thus providing a 2026 final operating date for those taxis.

Grants, which are administered by the NTA, are available for drivers looking to purchase new vehicles. The wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) Grant provides financial support towards the acquisition or conversion of suitable vehicles to operate as WAVs in the SPSV fleet. Under the WAV Grant, applicants can avail of up to €17,500 in grant funding. In addition to the WAV grant, the eSPSV Grant Scheme is available to persons (individuals or companies) applying for new SPSV licences or existing SPSV licence holders who wish to upgrade their current vehicle with a replacement electric vehicle. Applicants can avail of up to €25,000 in grant funding under this Scheme. The Scheme provides grants towards new and second hand EVs, with a higher level of funding on offer where an older, existing vehicle, is scrapped. The 2025 iterations of these grant schemes are closed to new applications but they may re-open in early 2026, subject to the provision of funding. Information on the grant schemes available in 2026 will be posted to the latest news section of the NTA website as it becomes available.

A further avenue to help SPSV drivers financially is through Microfinance Ireland. Microfinance Ireland provides unsecured business loans up to €50,000 to both Start-ups and established businesses, that are having difficulty in getting access to funding through the usual credit institutions. Further details on loans that are available can be seen at this link: microfinanceireland.ie/.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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363. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has considered extending or adapting the electric vehicle grant scheme for SPSV drivers to ensure it is accessible to those on lower or modest incomes; and if alternative schemes such as retrofit or low-cost finance supports have been evaluated to assist taxi drivers in transitioning to newer vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59062/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Electric Small Public Service Vehicle Grant Scheme supports the uptake of EVs in the SPSVs sector (taxis, hackneys, and limousines).

Drivers can apply for grants of up to €10,000 towards the purchase of a new full battery eSPSV with a further €2,500 available to convert it to a wheelchair accessible model. Those scrapping older, more polluting, or high mileage vehicles are now eligible for double the normal grant if they make the switch to electric. This amounts to €20K available for a new full electric or €25K for a wheelchair accessible new battery electric vehicle.

The Government remains firmly committed to creating the conditions necessary for widespread EV adoption. This includes ensuring that our national charging infrastructure keeps pace with demand and that access to EVs is both equitable and achievable. We will continue to pursue a balanced and evidence-based approach, one that is ambitious in its climate objectives, yet grounded in deliverability and value for money.