Taxi Regulation Bill 2003: Second Stage
Dr. Henry: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Roche. I also welcome the Bill.
I was one of those who was not very critical of the way in which the then Minister of State, Mr. Molloy, introduced taxi deregulation. As I live within a mile and a half of the city centre, I tend to walk or take public transport. If the need arises, I take a taxi when I go in or out of the city. Before deregulation it was almost impossible to get a taxi. The difficulty was so great at the time that this was probably the only option open to the then Minister of State in the circumstances. At least nowadays it is possible to get a taxi, and do so fairly easily.
I agree with many of the concerns expressed by other speakers, particularly in respect to the careful assessment required for taxi drivers. Checks need to be made in regard to criminal records held by individuals wishing to become taxi drivers. I was involved in the X case and was horrified when I discovered that the man involved was a taxi driver-----
Ms White: Hear, hear.
Dr. Henry: ----- and that he was subsequently convicted of a further offence. It needs to be made clear that the assessment of those who intend to drive taxis will be thorough and that reference will be made to the sex offenders register. When I was working, I often put my young children into a taxi to send them somewhere. In such circumstances one must be totally assured as to the moral quality of a person driving a taxi. This is extremely important.
I do, however, have sympathy with taxi drivers also. Some of them appear to be subject to the most terrible abuse, particularly at night. Senators who said we had a good taxi service were correct. It is depressing to find that in some other countries there is a grille between the driver and passenger. I assume its purpose is not to keep the passenger safe from the driver but vice versa. That is an ugly situation and I would not like to see it develop here.
I had an amusing incident with a taxi driver some years ago. I had an old dog who had a very fine spirit but a bad heart. The dog liked to walk into town with me but sometimes it got too much for him on the way home. Once, a bus driver made me carry him upstairs and he was quite a weight. On one occasion coming home when I could see his heart was beginning to give up, I asked a taxi driver outside Adams to take my dog and me. He agreed and said: "Compared to the animal I had in my taxi last night, he looks pretty civilised." They do have problems in dealing with the general public, which must be taken into account.
All speakers - there is also reference to this in the Bill - referred to the problems experienced by people with wheelchairs. I do not understand the reason there is such a problem as there seem to be so many huge vans around that are suitable for taking wheelchairs and much less comfortable than cars for able-bodied people. It is incredible that wheelchair users cannot book a taxi. Something has to be done about this. I am sure the Minister will accept this point.
Ireland is still an expensive place in which to take a taxi. I was in Lisbon recently where taxis were about one third of the price they are here. This is particularly noticeable at the airport where one has to pay an additional charge for the fact that the taxi has been waiting at the airport. Those who print Cara magazine should point out that, as well as taxi and Dublin Bus services to the city, there is also the Aircoach service, which is extremely good value at €10 for a return ticket. I was amazed to note this omission recently because it is a very good service at a reasonable cost. It does not do the tourist industry any good not to refer to this.
While taxis are expensive, deregulation does not necessarily mean that things will become cheaper. I had a dreadful experience some years ago in Stockholm Airport in Sweden where there are both legitimate taxis and those that strangers do not know about. Unfortunately, I got into the wrong one and it cost me nearly £60 to get from the airport into the city when the fare should have been in the region of £20. These are the kind of things we need to guard against when trying to introduce competition. We need to ensure we keep an eye on how the changes are working out in practice.
I am delighted the Bill is before us today and commend it to the House. As a user of taxis, I can only hope it will make the situation in Dublin even better.
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