Taxi drivers hold 24-hour national stoppage (Irish Times)

Ussher did not organise this protest ,he was embarassed into joining by The Taxi Drivers for Change,

The majority of protestors are Independent Owner/operators.

some scam, take drivers money to represent them and do fuck all

Here's a reply  i got from the Labour spokesman on transport:

Dear Brian,

Thanks for your email, which I read with great interest. I have immediately contacted the Minister for Social and Family Affairs and asked her to provide information on the use of the BTWEA scheme that you highlight. I will also raise this matter with my colleagues on the Dail Transport Committee.

I have consistently raised many issues of concern to taxi drivers including taxi numbers and part time drivers with other well paid jobs, licensing, infrastructure, taxi rank spaces and the impact of fuel costs on taxi drivers with Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and the Taxi Regulator Ms. Kathleen Doyle at numerous meetings we Dail Transport Committee.

The transcript of some of the taxi hearings at the Dail Transport Committee are available at:

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=TRJ20090325.xml&Node=H2#H2

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=TRJ20081217.xml&Node=H2#H2

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=TRJ20080423.xml&Node=H2#H2

I was strongly critical of the recent Goodbody Report into the taxi industry that was carried out by for the Regulator (I have attached my recent statement on the report below). The Dail Transport Committee is also considering its own recommendations on a range of issues facing the taxi sector at the moment which it will present to Transport Minister Dempsey including the possibility of a temporary moratorium on the issuing of licenses. Unfortunately, the Minister seems to be completely opposed to a moratorium or any other new market-demand mechanism for regulating the issuing of taxi licenses.

I have strongly argued at the Transport Committee on behalf of the Labour Party that the current regulation of the taxi sector is grossly inadequate and issues like the explosion of licenses, fake licenses and transferability of licenses must be urgently addressed. I am also hoping to bring forward my own proposals on the taxi sector very soon. I am liasing with a number of taxi drivers' represenatatives on all of these matters. I have also attended a number of recent taxi protest marches and addressed the taxi drivers at these protests.

Very Best Wishes,

Tommy Broughan T.D.

Taxi Report disappoints, fails to address key issues
Issued : Monday 9 March, 2009
Statement by Tommy Broughan TD
Spokesperson on Transport
Labour Transport Spokesperson Tommy Broughan T.D. has described today's new economic review of the taxi industry published by the Taxi Regulator as very disappointing and less than thorough.
Deputy Broughan said, "The Goodbody Review rightly acknowledges that liberalisation of the taxi industry has brought great benefits to taxi users. But there have been increasing complaints from taxi drivers and users across the country about collapsing incomes and falling standards within the industry. The suspicion remains that this report is merely being used to rubber stamp the current grossly inadequate regulatory regime in the taxi sector.
"Key elements of the Taxi Regulator's entry and monitoring mechanisms including the current deficient local knowledge entry exam and the existence of just nine enforcement officers to police an industry with more than 27,000 license holders are not investigated. I have received many complaints from passengers about drivers who do not know where they are going and about the generally perceived falling standards in the industry. Yet the Report appears to give the seal of approval to the current approach of the Taxi Regulator including the Commission's total failure to invigilate the transferring of licenses, the operation of bogus licenses and the implementation of the EU Working Time Directive.
"A key objective of this report was the delivery of hard facts on the current economic situation in the taxi sector. It is therefore particularly disappointing to see little substantive new data or recommendations contained in the review. The
Report is vague on the terms of drivers' incomes. It estimates that average gross earnings are €40,350 after costs but before tax and that the net hourly earnings of drivers in 2008 was approximately €11 (below the average industrial wage and above the minimum wage). However, many drivers I have met on recent protests strongly dispute these figures given the volume of taxis plying their trade at the moment.
"The Report acknowledges some alarming statistics in terms of current working conditions in the sector. 25% of all drivers are currently working more than 60 hours a week and 11.2% of drivers are working more than 70 hours a week. Astonishingly, the Report also found that one in five drivers with two occupations is working more than 75 hours a week. Yet the Report does not suggest any action on double jobbing or maintaining critical health and safety standards for drivers and the general public. It's also very striking that there is little or no discussion of successful taxi regulation in our sister EU countries and in other developed economies.
"Finally, the dismissal of proposals for a temporary moratorium is also a major blow to taxi workers who believe a limited moratorium accompanied by the introduction of strict entry and monitoring standards would give the industry breathing space to stabilise and enable full time taxi workers to earn a decent living. The Goodbody report has clearly failed to address many of the critical issues within the taxi sector and instead seems stuck in the time warp of the now discredited and disastrous "light touch" regulation ideology. I have already requested an urgent full scale Dáil Transport Committee meeting on this report."

In the the words of Iarnrod Eireann " We're not there yet ,but we're getting there !! The next meeting of the committee is 15.45 on the 8th of april    

Just watch The Widow hanafin squirm when tommy broughan asks "where's the taxpayers money gone ?

You didn't assist people in getting licences for a business that's oversubscribed did you ?

Minister Hanafin how doe's the clawback work on behalf of taxpayers ?

should be good. 2 years unimployed before you get that. lazy bunch of ..........

Will someone tell that useless bunch that Communism didn't work..
                                                    dictatorships       didn't work
                                              and the free market didn't work

You're flogging a dead horse.

who are the commies?

Read History of the world PT 1,

All i meant that following ideologies slavishly is self destructive look at the world now,

Slaves to free market capitalism, a balance needs to be struck.