POOR REGULATION of the taxi industry is fuelling tensions between Irish and foreign national drivers in Dublin.
Increasing numbers of legitimate taxi drivers are falling behind on mortgage payments as the Govern-ment stalls on declaring a moratorium on new taxi licenses, with Dublin now rumoured to have more taxis than New York.
The Siptu trade union claims that since deregulation nine years ago, the number of taxi licences has leapt from 2,000 to over 25,000.
The surplus of taxis and poor detection of illegitimate drivers, coupled with the financial crisis, has led to an earnings meltdown, and immigrant drivers – legal or not – are facing some of the backlash.
When Metro Éireann spoke with Irish drivers at O’Connell Street’s taxi rank last Monday, the finger of blame was being pointed at Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, Taxi Regulator Kathleen Doyle – and foreign national taxi drivers.
One of the drivers – all of whom declined to be named – told Metro Éireann that 12-hour shifts were sometimes yielding as little as €70, which fuel costs would then eat into. He referred to tensions between Irish and non-Irish drivers as “not too bad”, but nevertheless claimed that non-Irish drivers “only have to get 25 per cent” in their taxi exam, as opposed to an 85 per cent target for Irish nationals.
A neighbouring taximan insisted that it is well-known that non-Irish drivers often hand over their taxis to “mates” – unlicensed to taxi – when their shift ends, and alleged that “90 per cent of my customers will not get in a taxi with foreign nationals because they don’t know where they’re going”.
The driver, a single man, said he sympathised with his married colleagues who are fretting over their livelihoods.
Another driver at the rank said there are now so many taxis that the industry cannot be properly policed, and, referencing foreign drivers, said: “They’d want to do something or someone’s going to be raped or murdered.” He said that unlicensed Irish drivers “probably” also posed a threat to unsuspecting customers.
President of the National Taxi Drivers Union, Tommy Gorman, told Metro Éireann that there are around 2,000 illegal taxi drivers in Dublin, and that he believes a large proportion are non-Irish. They are “inclined to skip queues”, he claimed, and cause “disruption” in the rank when Irish passengers forgo their service based on “a previous experience” of the driver not knowing where he is going.
However, a Nigerian taxi driver in Dublin, who also wanted his name withheld, disputed such allegations, and told Metro Éireann that some Irish colleagues in the industry have subjected him to intimidation on the road, making jungle references and telling him to “go back to your country”.
Meanwhile, Siptu taxi branch organiser Jerry Brennan said that the Government urgently needs to declare a halt on new taxi licences, or existing drivers will cease to make a living.
Siptu, which organised protests in Dublin this week over the situation, estimates that since deregulation of licensing in 2000 the number of taxis in Dublin has increased from approximately 2,000 to 25,000.
“One of our members came in here last Saturday morning, at 9.30am,” said Brennan. “He’d gone to work on Friday evening at 9pm, and worked for €70 euro for a 12-hour shift. He would also have had to pay €20 euro for fuel, so he came away with €50 euro. He was in a very distraught state. He said: ‘Jerry, I know at this point I can’t pay my mortgage, what can I do?’”
Brennan admitted that the situation has led to inter-nationality tensions, and added that “anecdotal stories” are doing the rounds.
“I’ve been asked why foreign drivers are allowed to get lower marks [in the taxi exam] but that’s simply not true. I have heard of illegal operators but not all of them are foreign nationals. There are illegal operators of all nationalities.”
On Monday, around 300 drivers marched from Parnell Street to deliver a letter of protest to the Department of Transport and onto the Taxi Regulator’s office demanding a cap on the number of new licences.
Brennan defended the strike action, which may continue next week, noting that although an Oireachtas committee looks set to recommend a moratorium on licences, Minister Noel Dempsey has given no indication that he will sanction such a proposal.
