Senior officers in the Garda Traffic Department are to decide in the coming days whether to revoke a taxi licence issued to the man at the centre of the X case, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a passenger in his car.
Gardai admitted yesterday that they were aware more than a year ago that the Carriage Office had issued the man with a PSV (Public Service Vehicle) licence but they decided against withdrawing it.
The licence was obtained in September 1997 shortly after the man was released after serving two years of a four-year sentence for raping a 14-year-old girl. As he had moved address a number of times since he was jailed, his conviction did not show up in a routine character check.
Gardai only learned of the licence being issued after the man was seen driving a taxi in Dublin in July 1998. The following month, he was interviewed by officials from the Traffic Department, who decided the licence should not be revoked.
A Garda spokesman said the reasons behind this decision were, first, that the man had been driving for a year and had not come to the notice of the Garda for any road offence; second, his psychological reports had been favourable; and, third, he had a constitutional right to earn a living.
The man, now aged 50, has since been accused of making lewd suggestions to and twice assaulting another 14-year-old girl whom he was driving home. The girl claims she managed to escape after the man had driven on to a secluded road.
The Garda spokesman confirmed yesterday that an investigation had been started. However, he stressed, "these are just allegations at this stage. They have yet to be substantiated."
The man is working as a "cosy" under a fleet system whereby the taxi plate under which he drives has been rented from someone else.
Since gardai identified the case last year, they have changed the procedures for applying for PSV licences. Applicants must now make a declaration of any prior convictions held and failure to do so would result in disqualification. If a licence is revoked, the person may appeal to the courts.
The Garda spokesman said a change in law may be needed if it was to prohibit all sex offenders from holding a licence, and such a law may prove to be unconstitutional. However, Mr Vincent Kearns, a spokesman for the National Taxi Drivers' Union, said there was a need to reassure passengers that taking a taxi was a safe form of transport. "I don't know how anyone who is a convicted sex offender is entitled to hold a licence. It's a very bad reflection on our trade."
He added: "The whole vetting system is in need of restructuring. This case aside, there are people out there driving without insurance or even driving licences."
Labour's spokesman on justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, said: "A criminal offence involving sexual assault should debar someone from holding a licence. It's essential that the public, particularly women, are safe and feel safe in a taxi."
