The Government has announced full deregulation of the taxi industry, arousing intense anger among drivers who say their businesses will be ruined and that they are considering their legal options.
A provision to allow drivers who paid large sums for their taxi plates - some up to £80,000 - to write off their capital losses against tax, will be implemented, according to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Mr Bobby Molloy, who signed the orders at 8 p.m. last night.
"I do hope that what we have done will now once and for all solve the chronic taxi service problems in Dublin. As people apply for the licences the industry will grow and the service to the public will become a reliable one and there will be taxis when they are required," Mr Molloy said.
In light of the recent High Court judgment, and in consultation with Government colleagues, he had determined that it would not be "reasonable or desirable" to maintain control over taxi numbers, he said.
Last night the move was being seen as a particular success for the Progressive Democrats.
It is seen as a defeat for the Dublin element within Fianna Fail which has strongly supported the taxi lobby's resistance to such radical change.
Mr Tommy Gorman, General Secretary of the National Taxi Drivers' Union, which has 2,500 members in the State, said they would be consulting their legal representative to see if there was any way they could challenge the regulations.
"We're still getting over the initial shock. It's hard to believe that our business will be demolished," he said.
Mr Gorman added: "Our main problem now is to contain the drivers. They have been very angry over the past week and we don't know what's going to happen."
The Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation president, Mr John Ussher, said: "We've been trying to cool the situation since deregulation was suggested, so I think there will be huge reaction and I think some form of action will be taken."
Mr Christy Humphreys of the Irish Hackney Drivers' Association, which has 5,000 members throughout the State, said they were very pleased.
"It's a good day for the hackney drivers and a good day for the general public."
To ensure there will be wheelchair-accessible taxis, Mr Molloy said the regulations fixed the fee for a new, ordinary licence at £5,000, and for a new wheelchair-accessible taxi licence at £100.
By the end of 2003, though, regulation will be introduced where all taxis will have to have this accessibility.
"I would like to call on taxi service providers to respond positively to the challenges of the new business environment which the regulations would establish," he said.
Mr Molloy said local authorities had been informed last night of the new regulations and would begin arrangements for processing the licences from this morning.
He estimated the Garda-operated Carriage Office, which tests vehicles, would be able to process 150 applicants a week, but said the speed at which the system was put in operation was up to local authorities.
"It would be grand if we get the increased taxis out before Christmas but that is up to the local authorities and how quickly they can get the application forms out and the process under way."
Asked about compensation, Mr Molloy said while there was no obligation on the State to compensate people who had bought their licences, the Government recognised the hardship which would be caused.
The Minister for Finance will make arrangements to allow for tax relief.
Certain recent new holders of wheelchair-accessible taxi licences, who had paid higher fees than those now applying, in some cases £15,000, would be refunded by a scheme administered by local authorities.
The Minister confirmed he had spoken to a group of Fianna Fail backbenchers last week and explained what he planned to do.