Taxi-drivers dismiss £20m compensation plan as 'paltry'

Fine Gael has pledged to establish, if elected, a £20 million fund to compensate taxi-drivers who have suffered losses from the liberalisation of the industry.

The party's deputy leader and spokesman on finance, Mr Jim Mitchell, said the proposal was aimed at righting the "injustice" suffered by the taxi-plate owners whose assets had been stripped of value as a result of liberalisation 12 months ago.

The proposal is to form part of Fine Gael's pre-election manifesto, expected to be published early next year. It includes the establishment of a "taxi reorganisation board", which would manage the fund as well as oversee development of the industry.

The National Taxi Drivers' Union, which represents more than 3,000 drivers, said it would welcome such a regulating body. However, it described the £20 million fund as "paltry".

"Our estimated accumulated losses nationwide are about £315 million," Mr Vincent Kearns, the union's vice-president, said.

The union was encountering an increasing number of people in financial hardship, including retirees and widows whose plates were their only source of income. Young drivers were "suffering heart attacks and strokes", he added, such was the pressure to repay monies borrowed to purchase now-valueless plates.

Describing the £20 million figure as an "initial" one, Mr Mitchell said he always believed "a wrong" had been done "in pursuit of a right policy to liberalise the industry".

The proposal, he said, would have no implications for the Exchequer as the money would be recouped through an increase in the licence renewal fee from £100 to £200-£250, and an increase in the new licence fee from £5,000 to £7,000.

Under the proposal, each individual would be compensated for one plate only on the basis of an income assessment of the two-year period before liberalisation.

"The taxi-men are not the flavour of the month because of the shortages with taxis," said Mr Mitchell. "But I must say I have great respect for the old taxi-men who got up and worked, and took out loans for plates in the 1980s when other people went on the dole. We see this as a matter of justice."

The move comes amid threats from the taxi unions to campaign against certain candidates in next year's general election. Discussions are also taking place with the Government on possible compensation.

Mr Kearns said if no agreement was reached with the Government shortly the union would mobilise its members on the issue for the election. "There are about 7,500 taxi-drivers in Dublin alone. If you've three votes per household that's more than 21,000 voters who will be looking for fair play for taxi-drivers," he said.