Sir, - I read with interest the letter from Olivia Mitchell, TD stating that she agreed with Mary Harney's call for deregulation in the taxi industry. Enthused by Fine Gael's traffic spokesperson agreeing with a Progressive Democrat approach, I continued to read the rest of her letter. Disappointment soon followed as the remainder of the letter amounted to a justification of the failed status quo of long queues for the taxi-using public. In fact the last paragraph even changed the subject from taxis to a vague policy sound-bite on public transport.
The reason the Progressive Democrats believe in deregulation of entry into the taxi industry is because government, both local and national, is unable to adapt to changes in the market place. The reality of this is all too apparent to taxi-users throughout Dublin as they consistently face difficulties obtaining a taxi. While local government has made progress over the past four years, the queues remain.
In 1997, the four local authorities in Dublin commissioned the most detailed independent study of any taxi industry in western Europe, the Oscar Faber report. No sooner was the report received than its conclusions were shelved when it became apparent they were unacceptable to the present taxi-plate owners. The report suggested an increase of 3,500 plates over the next 10 years with full deregulation at the end of that period. This would make annual progress to deregulation (350 plates a year) and dramatically improve the service to the citizens along the way. It would also have the effect of giving the small percentage of recent plate-owners, who have invested a large amount of money, time to realise a return on their investment.
Unfortunately this is not what Olivia Mitchell and her colleagues in Fine Gael voted for at local government level. The consensus they came to with the taxi industry was a total increase of 850 plates over three years (2,650 or 75 per cent short of the report's suggestion) and no deregulation. When I tabled a motion in the City Council calling for the Faber report's implementation it was voted down by Fianna Fail, Labour and Deputy Mitchell's colleagues in Fine Gael. They would appear to be keener to appease an aggressive taxi lobby than to do what is best for the taxi-users of Dublin. I do hope Ms Mitchell's disingenuous attempt to put a spin on what she did will be seen for what it is by the wider community. - Yours, etc., Cllr Alan Robinson, Progressive Democrats,
City Hall, Dublin.