THE president of the Irish Taxi Federation said yesterday that the livelihood of 3,500 taxi drivers would be put at risk if Dublin Corporation issued up to 600 new taxi plates.
Mr John Ussher said he was horrified by the proposal which had been made without any consultation with the taxi trade.
Sources in Dublin Corporation said it was proposed to issue 500 to 600 new plates, but not all at once, as "we don't want to flood the market". The corporation was concerned that Fingal and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown might issue plates this year if Dublin did not act now.
Mr Tom Coffey, chief executive of the Dublin Business City Centre Association said "There are not enough taxis at any time of the year it's not just a problem at Christmas."
Mr Ussher of the Taxi Federation said it would be absurd to base proposals on a survey carried out last December 15th, which "was a Friday and the busiest day of the year" and many taxi drivers had paid up to three times the £25,000 suggested for extra permanent plates.
Dublin Corporation is also proposing a temporary plate to be rented from mid November to January 1st. A survey carried out for the Dublin City Business Association by Trinity College concluded that "the (taxi) fleet was incapable of coping satisfactorily with the scale of passenger demand during the pre Christmas shopping period".