Sinn Féin proposals on the reform of the taxi industry include a review of the rule that vehicles more than nine years old cannot be used by drivers.
Launching the party's plans outside the Department of Transport this morning, justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the party would introduce comprehensive legislation for a "root and branch" reform of the industry, which they would introduce in the next Dáil.
The proposals in a six-page document entitled Fare play for Taxi Drivers include giving a six-month interval for the taxi regulator to buy back licences from operators, after which licences become non-transferable.
Standard licences cost €6,300 and €125 for a wheelchair accessible licence and the TD said the regulator had a €28 million fund of licence and annual fees.
Since the deregulation of the taxi industry in 2000, there has been an estimated seven-fold increase in the number of taxis. There are now 20,551 active licences in the State, and 11,962 in the Dublin region alone.
Mr Ó Snodaigh said there should be changes to ensure that the taxi industry is a full-time industry and that the drivers should be full-time. "The situation at the moment is unsustainable and is causing major heartache for taxi drivers and their families."
Questioned about how the industry could be full-time when individuals were entitled to work part-time, he said the industry should be made "attractive only to full-time" drivers. They needed to increase the standards of the vehicle. "You ensure that the licence fee is appropriate that the licence isn't transferable and all of those regulations would prevent fly-by-nights," he said.
Sinn Féin wanted to ensure that people didn't have to work 100 hours a week "just to earn a living", he added.