Taxi group says gardaí cannot vet certain drivers properly

Taxi drivers from “certain foreign jurisdictions” cannot be vetted by gardaí on any history before their entry into this State, a group representing drivers has claimed.

Addressing the joint Oireachtas committee on transport and communications in relation to the Taxi Regulation Bill yesterday, Tiománaí Tacsaí na hÉireann chairman David McGuinness said the matter had come to light in talks with the Garda vetting unit.

“We realise the importance of proper vetting procedures and that people feel comfortable and are safe getting into a taxi,” he said

Mr McGuinness said he had been told by gardaí the vetting unit had compiled a list of countries – mainly outside the EU – where the issue arose.

Fine Gael TD Patrick O’Donovan said the development was “very serious” and called on representatives of the Garda Vetting Unit and the Department of Justice to “give us an indication as to what countries we cannot get information from”.

“If there are people who have potentially serious criminal records . . . and they arrive in Ireland, that’s a very serious development,” he added.

Mr McGuinness said his organisation was proposing a residency rule, whereby people would not be entitled to apply for a taxi licence until they had resided in the State for a certain length of time.

An Garda Síochána was unable to corroborate Mr McGuinness’s claims yesterday.