“An ill-thought out measure” that will only create hardship for taxi drivers and lead to unemployment, is how a Labour councillor has described a new regulation for the taxi industry.
The regulation came into force on January 1 and requires that all taxis must be less than nine years old on the date of their licence renewal.
Labour councillor Niall McNelis has called this “an ill-thought out measure” as he believes it will force one quarter of the State’s taxi fleet to be replaced unnecessarily over the next 12 months.
“In the present economic climate, when taxi drivers are striving to keep their heads above water, a substantial compulsory outlay for a new or fairly new car may not be possible,” Cllr McNelis said. “Many will inevitably be forced to go on the dole.”
He added that it will also be extremely difficult for a taxi driver to access a loan from the banks should they need a new car.
“The chances of getting support from the banks that we have bailed out are zero,” Cllr McNelis said. “We cannot afford to have thousands of taxi drivers lose their livelihood over a silly regulation which has not been properly thought through.”
