'Taxi regulator's office has failed'
Tuesday November 09 2010
The taxi regulator has been branded a failure by Dublin councillors, who last night called for her office to be axed.
South Dublin County Council will formally write to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, telling him to "recognise that his decision to establish a taxi regulator has failed the taxi industry and should be abolished".
However, most of the criticism from the elected members of the council was aimed at Regulator Kathleen Doyle, rather than at Minister Dempsey.
During last night's monthly meeting of South Dublin County Council, Ms Doyle was slated for refusing to cap numbers in the taxi industry.
Cllr Mick Duff (Lab) said the extremely high number of plates meant taxi drivers were now "almost like the mobile unemployed". He compared the situation in parts of Tallaght to a Carlsberg advertisement because "you walk out and there are 10,000 [taxi] lights down the street".
Cllr Pamela Kearns (Lab) claimed "anyone else would be thrown out of their jobs" if they behaved as the regulator had.
Referring to recent reports that some taxi drivers have taken their lives due to financial difficulties they are facing during this recession, Councillor Kearns said "taxi drivers literally cannot make ends meet and there are going to be more deaths as a result".
She was echoed by Cllr Marie Corr (Lab), who blamed the taxi regulator's mismanagement for a lot of cases she has seen "of families breaking down because of depression".
Source; http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city ... 12926.html
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