Taxi-drivers have voted for further negotiations with the Minister of State for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Robert Molloy, on his proposal to liberalise the taxi market, Roddy O'Sullivan reports.
A ballot of National Taxi Drivers' Federation and National Taxi Drivers' Union members saw 40 per cent of members reject Mr Molloy's proposals outright and 58 per cent vote in favour of returning to talks. One in 50 of the votes cast by drivers earlier this week and counted yesterday were spoiled.
Mr Molloy proposes to introduce more than 3,000 new licences. Dublin Corporation will begin sending out letters to about 2,700 existing licence-holders at the end of this week, which will advise them that they can apply for another licence.
A statement from the National Taxi Drivers' Union said the executives of both organisations would now hold meetings to formulate their strategy.