Up to 20 TDs, including a number from Fianna Fail, attended a meeting yesterday organised by taxi-drivers from outside of Dublin. These drivers want to highlight the difference between the situation in the capital and the rest of the country.
A number of TDs addressed the meeting, expressing sympathy with the plight of the rural taxi-drivers and agreeing that a separate case should be put to the Government to deal with their situation.
The meeting was closed to the media, but Galway TD, Mr Michael Kitt, (FF), said he told the taxi-drivers while there was a serious shortage of taxis in Dublin this was not the case in Galway. He also said there were "hard cases" among the taxi-drivers, people who would suffer very much as a result of the deregulation which would have to be examined.
Mr Liam Aylward, (FF), Carlow/Kilkenny, said he believed the rural taxi-drivers had presented their case in a very reasonable manner.
"I have to say in comparison to the attitude of the city drivers they were very reasonable. I think they do have to extricate themselves from the Dublin situation. There are two totally different situations." He said he believed the matter would be raised today at the Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting.
Mr Michael Noonan, (FG) said he told the meeting he spends half his week in Dublin and always brings his car because he cannot rely on taxis in the capital. The service in Limerick he described as "reasonably good".
"The service in Dublin is in a frightful mess. Certain Fianna Fail TDs guaranteed the taxi-drivers there would be no change, even though everyone knew there had to be change," he said.
However, the situation outside Dublin was different. "The worry among the people in Limerick is that an awful lot of people will get into it [the taxi industry] on a part-time basis."
He criticised the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Mr Molloy, for reacting to the High Court taxi judgment in the manner in which he did, saying the situation was now a mess. Fine Gael, he said, had been unable to sort out the shortage of taxis while in Government because Fianna Fail councillors were "in control" of Dublin Corporation at that time and would not agree to extra taxis.
Dublin TD Mr Sean Ryan (Lab) said he told the meeting the new regulations were not acceptable. "As a Dublin TD I said there was a major problem here with people crying out for taxis. It had to be dealt with but the way to deal with it was consultation, not how it was done."
Kerry TD Mr Jackie Healy Rae said the taxi shortage in the capital had "nothing whatsoever to do with Tralee, Killarney or the rest of Kerry".
"The problems in Dublin should not be sorted out at the expense of Kerry taxi-drivers." He was on his way to the weekly meeting of the four independent TDs who support the Government and the Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, and he was going to raise the matter there, he said.
Among the other TDs who attended the meeting were: Mr Ivor Callely (FF), Dublin, Mr Tony Killeen (FF) Clare, Mr Michael Collins (FF) Limerick, Mr Eddie Wade, (FF), Limerick, Mr Johnny Brady (FF), Meath, Mr Denis Foley (Ind) Kerry, Mr John Perry (FG) Sligo, Mr Padraic McCormack (FG), Galway, Mr Jimmy Deenihan (FG), Kerry, Mr Brian O'Shea (Lab) Waterford, Ms Jan O'Sullivan (Lab) Limerick.