Small taxi protest held in Dublin

The impact which the deregulation of taxis was having on the families of drivers was the focus of a march held in Dublin city centre on this afternoon.

Wives, husbands, partners and children of taxi drivers were among some 100 people who walked from Parnell Square to the Dáil in a protest organised by the group, Taxi Drivers for Change.

Drivers were also angered by a sharp hike in the public service vehicle (PSV) licence which came into force last week.

The licence increased from €3 to €250 at the start of the month to cover administration as well as driver ID and smart cards.

Jim Waldron spokesman for Taxi Drivers for Change said this was a huge increase at a time when the price of everything else was going down.

He accredited the small turnout to a protest organised by the official taxi unions on Tuesday. This was the 13th demonstration held by the grassroots taxi organisation.

Spouse of a taxi driver Lisa Corr told the protest about the impact of the downturn in business. "I am now the main bread earner of my family. For my man it's not nice have to ask me for money for tyres or to pay the bills because he cannot afford to any more. I want him to be proud." she said.

Liam Kerrigan, who was protesting with his wife and grandson, explained that the hours he worked each week had increased from 45 to 75. "I was in bed at 5am this morning from 3pm yesterday. I'm doing 12 hour days and 16 hour days at the weekends," he said.

"The other night I earned €50 after ten hours. You can't get on ranks and if you try to you are fined so I drive around using a lot of diesel. It's getting worse," said driver Anne Tuite who has been in the business for eleven years.

One taxi-driver father of two primary school children explained that he was facing eviction because of the downturn in business. He said he earned €25 on Wednesday for 12 hours work.

"I'm not allowed to sign on for job seekers allowance because I am self employed so I am caught in the middle. I have a string of bills and a letter of eviction for not paying rent at home," said the man who did not want to be named.

It is a "no brainer" that a moratorium of the issuing of licence places was needed, Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald told the Irish Times at the protest. While consumers need access to transport, drivers need to be able to make a living, she said.

“I have a suspicion for the Government the continuous issuing of more and more plates is as much about massaging the live register figures as anything else,” she said.

Green local and by-election candidate for Dublin central, David Geary, was also at the protest. Geary recently wrote to the regulator calling for a moratorium on licences and increase taxi ranks.

However he said it wasn't simply a matter of Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey telling the regulator to stop issuing licence but it needed a "coherent approach" such as the regulator co-odinating with the city council on taxi ranks and looking at the optimum number of taxis.