THE union representing Hackney drivers has rejected Dublin Corporation's proposals to regulate taxi and hackney services. It has written to all city councillors urging them to vote against the proposals, to be put to them at next Monday's council meeting.
The general secretary of the Marine Port and General Workers' Union, Mr Michael Corcoran, said yesterday his members thought much more effective options for dealing with the taxi shortage at weekends could be devised.
The councillors are to consider proposals to issue 600 extra taxi plates, at a cost of £25,000 each, over the next four years. It is also proposed to increase the cost of a hackney licence from £100 to £750.
Mr Corcoran said this would not solve the problem of shortages of public hire vehicles on weekend nights. It would simply increase the overall supply of taxis and threaten the livelihoods of the 5,000 people already working in the sector.
The MPGWU, proposing alternative measures, says it wants, hackneys to be allowed to ply for hire in public places between midnight and 5 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
It says hackney ranks should be set up in the city centre for use at the designated times, that hackney drivers should have identification certificates and numbers, like taxi drivers, and they should be allowed to use two way radios.
The present proposals were described as "giving the public the worst of both worlds" by Mr Corcoran.