UNDERTAKINGS ABOUT steps to prevent “double-jobbing” by part-time taxi drivers and to stop taxi drivers operating outside their designated area were included in the outcome of talks that helped end two days of protest by taxi drivers that disrupted traffic and commerce in central Dublin.
Representatives of the taxi drivers met officials from the Department of Transport and there are to be more talks.
Traffic was disrupted in Dublin city centre for the second day running, as more than 100 taxis from around the country blockaded O’Connell Street.
Drivers had been protesting in the city centre since Thursday morning at what they say is a lack of regulation in the industry.
The meeting with department officials was described as “positive” by driver representatives, with a second one due to take place on October 15th.
Irish Taxi Council president Frank Byrne told drivers that those talks would concern issues such as the identification of vehicles and “double-jobbers”.
Every application for a new small public service vehicle licence and every application for licence renewal would have to state if the applicant was fully employed elsewhere, he said to cheers and applause.
He also said it had been agreed that regulations to ensure licensed drivers only operated within their designated areas would be introduced.
Andrew McMahon, a taxi driver from Ballina, Co Mayo, said: “We’ve got it there in writing with the signature but we’ll only be happy when we see it on Government paper.”
He apologised to motorists and the public for the inconvenience caused. “The real losers in all this were the people who couldn’t get around the city. We never intended to block the city and I apologise to every citizen of Dublin that we inconvenienced them.”
Dublin Chamber of Commerce yesterday estimated the impact of the action taken by drivers could cost the city’s economy as much as €10 million a day.
The protest was described as “excessive and negatively impacting Dublin’s delicate transport ecosystem” by Dublin Chamber chief executive Gina Quin.
“Those engaging in this militant protest are holding every city centre-based worker, shopper, tourist and business to ransom by blocking the road network,” she said, adding that gardaí should arrest those responsible.
Earlier in the day, Lord Mayor of Dublin Emer Costello appealed to taxi drivers to suspend protests, which she said were causing very serious disruption in the city.
In a statement, Ms Costello said she had considerable sympathy for taxi drivers facing unprecedented difficulties, but the action over the past 24 hours had caused considerable disruption and inconvenience.
The Commission for Taxi Regulation last night said it had “corresponded with the Irish Taxi Council and the other national representative bodies in the industry to clarify a number of matters which have been raised”.
It also confirmed that a meeting would be held with all representative groups following the announcement of further industry reforms later this year.