The Government's plan to double the number of taxis operating in Dublin by next May deserves no more than a qualified welcome. It is a positive, if belated, development. But an exasperated public is unlikely to be convinced that the Government has, at last, mustered the courage to confront the taxi lobby. Given the seriousness of the problem one might have thought that the discussion between the Coalition partners would be dominated by the very pressing needs of the public. Instead, it appears that there was significant opposition from several Fianna Fail backbenchers in Dublin to the issuing of new licences and stern opposition to the PD demand for deregulation.
At this stage, the public is entitled to ask: why does the Government allow a small, if very vocal, lobby to dominate the agenda when a sustained effort to respond to the public's concerns would yield substantial economic - and, perhaps, electoral - benefits. The Government will, no doubt, maintain that the new proposals represent a fair balance between the needs of the public and the interests of the taxi lobby. They do nothing of the sort. The Government's approach is still dominated by restrictive practices and feather-bedding; one new licence will be offered to each person who currently owns one of the 2,700 taxi licences in the city. There is no sense that the taxi sector is being exposed to the chill wind of real competition which might give the public the kind of service it needs and that citizens of every other EU capital take for granted.
Michael Noonan of Fine Gael underlined what he termed the "farce" in the provision of taxi services in his Budget speech yesterday. Many of those planning a night-out in Dublin over Christmas would have little alternative but to walk home, he said. In this city - and not just during the festive period - it can prove impossible to secure a taxi, even in the early afternoon. There are scores of anecdotes about how executives visiting the International Financial Services Centre have to hire a car to ferry them to the airport. It is part of a grim routine for thousands of people to plan a weekend night out without even considering the option of a taxi. The damage inflicted on the economy, on tourism, and on the international reputation of the capital city by this ludicrous state of affairs is unimaginable. And the Government's cautious approach is unlikely to provide a panacea, given the wide chasm that continues to exist between demand and supply.
Deregulation of the entire sector would make good sense and inject some badly needed competition into the sector. As the TCD economist, Sean Barrett, writes opposite, the Government owes the taxi lobby nothing; they have benefited from operating in a highly restrictive sector for a very considerable time. Some who purchased a taxi plate from the State at a nominal cost were later able to extract £75,000 or more for it. The whole edifice, built to insulate the taxi lobby, is contrary to the interests of the people of Dublin.