Dublin city councillors last night deferred a decision on whether to increase the number of taxi licences in the city by 200. They decided to defer a report of their sub committee, which had recommended the increase, on the basis that further consultation with representatives of the taxi and hackney business was needed.
The chairman of the subcommittee, Mr Brendan Brady, said that the proposed increase in licences would be only a "modest" 10 per cent, when in fact the growth of the city warranted a 15 per cent increase.
Many councillors felt that they had not been given enough time to consider the sub committee's report, which was only published last Thursday.