State may face €10m bill from taxi licence holders

The State may face a bill of up to €10 million in claims from taxi licence holders who did not receive money from the Taxi Hardship Payments Scheme.

The Government fund, established to provide relief for taxi licence holders who suffered financial hardship as a result of deregulation of the industry in November 2001, is to be brought to an end within weeks, the Department of Transport said.

Just under €17.5 million has been paid from the fund since December 2003. Some small sums have yet to be transferred to certain applicants. However, the department said no new payments would be made.

Of almost 2,000 applications made to the fund, 78 per cent were granted. Sums ranging from €3,000 to €15,000 were paid to licence holders, depending on the level of financial hardship.

However, the National Taxi Drivers' Union said hundreds of drivers who suffered extreme financial hardship were not eligible for the scheme because they were under 50 years of age at the time of deregulation.

"There are more than 600 people who are in this position. The only reason that they weren't compensated was their age and we believe there is a case to be answered under equality legislation," NTDU president Tommy Gorman said.

Hundreds of cases had gone through the arbitration phase at the Equality Authority, Mr Gorman said. The first cases were due to appear before the Equality Tribunal within the next two months.

The Taxi Hardship Payments Scheme was established after deregulation reduced the value of a taxi plate from an estimated €80,000-€100,00 to €6,500 and increased by several thousand the number of taxis on the roads.

Applications were considered under six categories

Category 1: Widows, widowers or separated individuals who held a licence on the relevant date, who suffered a reduction in income and who had no additional income other than the widow's/widower's pension or lone parents' allowance.

Category 2: Full-time taxi drivers aged over 65 who held a licence on the relevant date and had no additional income other than the State pension.

Category 3: Full-time taxi drivers aged between 50 and 65 who held a licence on the relevant date and had no additional income other than the State pension on retirement.

Category 4: Wheelchair accessible taxi licence holders who held a wheelchair licence on the relevant date and who had no other income and who could show a reduction in taxi income since deregulation.

Category 5: Full-time taxi drivers who mortgaged their family homes to buy a licence before deregulation and who had since suffered a reduction in income and were experiencing difficulties repaying the loan.

Category 6: People with disabilities who suffered a reduction in income from renting their taxi licence since deregulation.