Marie Sherlock (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. My question relates to the expiry of taxi licences and the situation that will obtain from January next whereby cars purchased in 2015 will be forced off the road because their ten-year licences will have expired but cars purchased between 2012 and 2014 will continue to operate as taxis. Wheelchair-accessible taxis older than ten years are allowed to continue for 15 years, and vintage models to not have an expiry date.

There is a serious anomaly and inconsistency in the rules regulating the time a small public service vehicle can continue on the road. This is unfair from a cost perspective, particularly when we think of the loss of earnings taxi drivers had to endure as a result of the pandemic. They did not get the full ten years to write off the cost of financing the purchase of their cars. It is also unfair when we look at the cost of buying a new car relative to ten years ago - there is a difference of about €2,000 when it comes to the purchase price and financing arrangements. It is not environmentally consistent, given that there are other messages from the Government with regard to running cars into the ground. The ten-year expiry ignores the reality that taxis have to pass a national car test every six months. That is the measure of whether the car is up to standard or otherwise. Yet, there is also the blunt instrument of ten years as the expiry deadline on a taxi licence. It is hard to understand the rationale behind that other than some sort of blunt way of taking older taxis off the road. At a time when we need more rather than fewer taxis, I am all the more bewildered as to why the Minister for Transport and the NTA have not sought to act in the face of what we expect to be more than 1,000 taxis being put off the road from next January.

Some 1,489 taxis were registered in 2015. The number registered in 2019 was 784. There was a bit of an increase in 2022, but the overall number of taxis operating on our roads is less than was the case prior to the pandemic. In April of this year, 12,990 taxis were in operation on our roads. That is 2,000 fewer than before the pandemic. What is the Minister for Transport doing about this? There were recommendations yesterday from the Dublin task force - it produced an excellent report - calling for more late-night taxis on our streets.Anybody who lives in Dublin is crucially aware of the shortage of taxis, particularly in the early hours of the morning. If we are serious about promoting the night-time economy and all of that, we need to have a strategy in place. There is a particular urgency in asking the Government and Minister for Transport to act because we expect the Government to conclude over the coming weeks. We face the prospect of not having a new Government in January, which would mean well over 1,000 taxis being put off the road. What action plan is being put in place to ensure we see an increase in rather than a fall in the number of taxis, starting in 2025?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Chair. I thank in particular Senator Sherlock for raising this important matter. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

I would like to clarify that the Minister, Deputy Ryan, is responsible for policy and overall funding of public transport. Neither the Minister nor his Department is involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport, including the small public service vehicle, SPSV, sector. The National Transport Authority, NTA, is the independent regulator for licensing and enforcement for the SPSV industry.

Regulations made by the National Transport Authority in 2010 first established a maximum permissible age of ten years for new standard taxis and hackneys. The ten-year rule was adopted in recognition of the need to strike a balance between achieving standards that offer the customer confidence, comfort and safety and allowing industry members to operate successfully.

The Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016 require the NTA to seek to promote the provision and maintenance of quality services by small public service vehicles and their drivers. The Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 continued the ten-year maximum permissible age limit for taxis and hackneys. The NTA's extension of age limits during the Covid-19 pandemic was an emergency measure of a temporary nature. It was taken in recognition of the vehicle availability challenges posed by the pandemic and was specifically aimed at ensuring that no operator would be required to change their vehicle while passenger demand remained low, and there was a lack of suitable vehicles available for purchase. The initial age limit extension impacted vehicles with an original final operation date in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Further amendments to the maximum permissible vehicle age were made by the NTA in 2022 because of ongoing challenges relating to vehicle supply. Regulations underpinning these amendments permitted taxis and hackneys with an original final operation date between 2020 and 2024 to operate for a period beyond the maximum permissible age, set out in the Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015. The maximum age extensions applied under the regulations ranged from 36 to 60 months. The regulations also provided for a graduated return to the ten-year age limit.

The 2022 regulations have now been in place for almost three years. They are targeted and time-limited, with varied accommodations made for a specific cohort of the fleet, to ensure the SPSV sector maintained operations during a period when vehicle supply was constrained. The vehicle supply concern that resulted in the development of the 2022 regulations is no longer present. Consequently, the NTA has no plans to further amend the associated regulations.

With regard to taxi shortages in urban areas, the Minister advises Senator Sherlock that the NTA has implemented measures to increase the number of taxis available to passengers, especially at night-time. These measures include approval of an increase of 9% in taxi fares from December 2024 ensuring that taxi fares continue to reflect the rising costs associated with operating a taxi service in Ireland, a driver recruitment campaign and the extension of the period that an SPSV licence may rest in an inactive-expired status from 12 to 24 months.

As Senator Sherlock is aware, while the NTA has statutory responsibility for regulating, licensing and enforcement for the SPSV industry, taxi drivers are self-employed individuals and, as such, decide on their own business strategies within the regulatory framework. Additionally, SPSV operators choose the times at which they operate.

The total number of SPSV drivers and vehicles is steadily increasing nationally. As of 30 September 2024, the number of SPSV drivers was 27,298. This represents an 8.2% or 2,067 increase on the 2021 figures of 25,231, when driver licence numbers were at their lowest. Drivers whose primary area of operation is Dublin account for 59% of taxi operators. In conclusion, as of 30 September 2024, the number of licensed vehicles was 20,360. This represents a 10.2% or 1,890 increase in comparison to when vehicle licence numbers were at their lowest in 2021, which was 18,470.

Marie Sherlock (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State. He indicated that the Minister for Transport is responsible for policy. However, the Minister is washing his hands of the matter and presiding over a situation whereby there will be fewer taxis across the country this year. I do not believe he can have it both ways. Previous responses from the Minister referred to initiating recruitment campaigns with the NTA. Yet, when it comes to the actual number of taxis, there is a retreat from or an abdication of responsibility.

It makes no sense that a wheelchair taxi is allowed to operate for 15 years but a standard taxi is only allowed to operate for ten. What is not clear from the figures the Minister of State provided is the breakdown between vintage, wheelchair and standard taxis. They are the figures to which I referred. My understanding is that there has been a decline in the number of standard taxis compared with the situation pre-pandemic.

The Minister of State's response was extremely disappointing. It represents a failure on the part of the Department to take responsibility for what is needed, namely an increase in taxi numbers. I do not believe the NTA should be left to deal with regulation. The point of the Oireachtas is to influence policy in State agencies. Right now, I do not believe it is good enough that more than 1,000 taxis will be retired next year simply because of their age and for reasons that have nothing to do with the condition they are in. At at time when we are all supposed to be much more environmentally conscious, it makes no sense to have such a blunt cut-off point when it comes to the taxi industry.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Sherlock. As previously stated, the NTA, as independent regulator for the SPSV sector, sets the standards and requirements for the sector which include rules about vehicle standards and vehicle age limits. For safety, emissions and quality reasons, standard taxis and hackneys must be less than ten years old to operate. Once a vehicle reaches its maximum permissible age, the licence holder may not apply to the NTA for the renewal of a licence with that vehicle and a younger replacement vehicle must be procured.

From 1 Jan 2028, the maximum permissible age requirements for taxis and hackneys will return to the original requirements, that is, ten years for taxis and hackneys and 15 years for wheelchair-accessible taxi and hackneys. The legacy age rules, which concern vehicles associated with SPSV licences before the introduction of the taxi (small public service vehicles) regulations 2015, will also have ceased to have effect by this date. It was an emergency measure at the time.

As the instigating factors around vehicle supply that resulted in the time-limited amendments to vehicle maximum permissible age are no longer present, the independent regulator for the SPSV sector, the NTA, does not anticipate introducing any further amendments to the maximum permissible age of SPSVs.

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I assure her that her questions have been heard. I will convey her points on this issue to the Minister.