A High Court challenge by the National Taxi Drivers' Union to controversial plans to deregulate the taxi industry resumes this morning.
The new regulations, aimed at increasing the number of taxis in the State, were announced in November by the Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Bobby Molloy. They were met by a storm of protest from taxi drivers who vented their anger by going on an all-out strike for several days before Christmas.
Last month the NTDU initiated a judicial review in the High Court of the Minister's decision. The case before Mr Justice Carney was adjourned after three days and resumes in High Court Number 2 at 11 a.m. today.
The court has been told taxi drivers believed unlimited availability of taxis would be such a fundamental, immediate and unwarranted change of policy by the Government that it would completely destroy taxi drivers' prospects of earning a livelihood in the long term. They also argue there is no provision in the new regulations for compensation.
The case is expected to continue into next week. Today, Mr John Rogers SC will continue his outline of how the regulations will cause hardship to NTDU members. He is expected to call an economist, Mr Myles O'Reilly, and Mr Tommy Gorman, general secretary of the NTDU, as witnesses.
Mr John Weafer, a principal officer in the Department of the Environment and Local Government, has said in an affidavit that the public interest outweighed any prejudice sustained by the drivers.
Some 740 new taxi licences have been issued by Dublin Corporation since deregulation was announced. A further 2,230 conditional offers of taxi licences have been made. These relate to applicants who have sought and paid for licences - £5,000 for standard taxi licences and £100 for wheelchair accessible taxis - and are awaiting checks on their vehicles.
Cork City Council has issued 88 standard taxi licences, two wheelchair accessible taxi licences, and made 356 conditional offers of taxi licences over the same period.