Deregulating taxi services

Sir, - A taxi driver speaking on Morning Ireland on November 22nd exclaimed: `We have mortgages, we have children.

Sir, - A taxi driver speaking on Morning Ireland on November 22nd exclaimed: `We have mortgages, we have children. . " He hit the nail on the head! Joe Public has children or nieces and nephews, and is no longer prepared to tolerate a situation where our young people are left queuing for hours in the freezing cold or wandering the city streets at all hours of the night and early morning in search of a taxi, often becoming victims of attack as they do so.

I welcome the Government initiatives which will benefit the general public. I have sympathy for the taxi drivers who invested heavily, and am glad to note that cognisance will be taken of their plight in next year's Finance Bill. - Yours, etc.,

Gerry Coburn, Dublin 12.