The National Taxi Drivers' Union will appeal a recent High Court ruling on the issuing of taxi licences, following a mass meeting in the National Stadium, Dublin, yesterday.
The High Court ruled that the Government had no power to restrict the issuing of new taxi licences to holders of existing taxi licences.
Hackney drivers had challenged a plan to more than double the number of existing licences in Dublin by allocating new licences only to existing licence-holders. The hackney operators claimed they had applied for taxi licences and were refused.
In a reserved judgment on October 13th, Mr Justice Murphy upheld their challenge and noted it was "remarkable" that little evidence had been given as to the "unmet" public demand for taxis.
The vice-president of the National Taxi Drivers' Union, Mr Vinny Kearns, said yesterday: "We know there is a need for a substantial increase in numbers but to deregulate the market will place many of our members in a position where their houses will be repossessed, widows will be without an income, retired taxi drivers and those out of work due to ill health will have no income.
"For the many people who have invested redundancies and life savings, they will be faced with the position that overnight their investment of £70,000 to £80,000 will be worthless. There are 10,000 taxi drivers nationwide who will be affected by whatever plan the Minister brings in. We will be in close discussions with the Minister in an attempt to achieve a plan that is acceptable to all."
He said the union is also considering industrial action, including a withdrawal of service, before Christmas, following the rejection of the NTDU's application for a fare increase.
"Dublin now has a cheaper fare structure than Cork. Dublin is the capital city and this wouldn't happen anywhere else in Europe. Cork were granted an increase of 13 per cent while the Dublin branch was looking for an 11 per cent increase," he said. More than 50 per cent of Dublin's 4,000 taxi drivers are members of the NTDU.
Meanwhile, the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said yesterday that with support from Fine Gael, the Dail and Seanad could pass emergency legislation within a week to lift restrictions on the number of taxis, following the recent High Court judgment.
"If the Government is genuinely concerned about the chronic public transport deficit, and the hardships this imposes on ordinary citizens, they will be willing to grasp the unique opportunity presented by Fine Gael's offer of parliamentary support for urgent legislation to put desperately needed extra taxis on our streets."
SIPTU's taxi branch will hold a meeting tomorrow evening in Liberty Hall, Dublin, to consider the High Court judgment. Its position is that the judgment will be upheld under appeal and further legal challenge is fruitless. Other claims, such as compensation, may be appropriate, according to the union.