Richard Boyd Barrett confronts NTA failures and taxi crisis
Richard Boyd Barrett pressed for urgent support for taxi drivers and greater public transport subsidies in a 24 July 2020 speech, addressing Dermot from the MBRU and taxi representatives. He argued the National Transport Authority has neglected drivers and called for moratoria, payments and grants to sustain the sector.
Urgent concerns for taxi drivers
The speaker said taxi drivers have been ignored and treated with contempt by the National Transport Authority (NTA), and that the industry has been decimated by the collapse of tourism, live entertainment and hospitality. He pressed taxi representatives directly in the debate to explain the immediate threats to drivers' livelihoods.
Public transport subsidy shortfall
He asked Dermot from the MBRU to confirm that public transport subsidies in Ireland were lower than almost anywhere else in Europe before Covid and argued that the pandemic strengthens the case for a substantial increase in subsidy. He stressed public transport is now more essential than ever and that Covid makes greater public funding imperative.
Pandemic payments and older drivers
He warned that the failure to extend the pandemic payment to people over 66 had placed older taxi drivers in a dangerous position by forcing a choice between health and income. He highlighted the dilemma that drivers face - returning to work means losing payments while staying on the payment produces recurring problems and insufficient earnings.
Licences, recruitment and moratorium calls
He criticised ongoing licence issuance and said continuing to issue new taxi plates while the industry is on its knees is inappropriate, noting Dublin previously had more taxis than New York. He expressed alarm at reports the NTA may launch an advertising recruitment campaign to attract new drivers and said the authority must reassure the public it will not do so.
Financial relief, grants and welfare supports
He urged an immediate moratorium on issuing plates and requested grant relief to cover roughly €11,000 of annual fixed licence-related costs, including issues tied to wheelchair-accessible vehicle grants and back-to-work scheme obligations. He also called for step-down payments to avoid a financial cliff for drivers, proposed targeted stimulus or get-out grants similar to those given to small farmers, and highlighted a lack of mental-health supports for drivers under severe stress.
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Just to apologise in advance to Dermot from the MBRU because my time is very short and I specifically asked that the taxi drivers would come in today so I'm going to fire most of my questions at them because I think they have been ignored but maybe one question to you very quickly Dermot is the subsidies to public transport in Ireland were lower than almost anywhere else in Europe before Covid you know could you maybe for the public's benefit just say how low they were and how Covid really adds dramatically to the case that we have to have a substantial increase in subsidy to public transport which now more than ever is more essential so maybe you could answer that but I'll just throw the rest of my questions at the taxi drivers I mean it's obvious that the taxi drivers have been ignored that they're being treated with contempt by the NTA and now their industry has been absolutely decimated and there's no road roadmap really backs pardon the pun for taxi drivers in the current period because all the associated things like tourism, live entertainment, music, bars, all the things that would have given them the possibility of having some sort of sustainable income are on the floor as well so I mean I suppose my question is around this maybe really for you to state the case why the income subsidy to allow people to go back to work is so crucial and would you agree that the failure to extend that the failure to extend that the pandemic payment to people over 66 really put taxi drivers who were over that age in a very very dangerous position health wise and that even now taxi drivers are caught in a terrible bind if they go back to work they lose their payments but they can't actually earn a decent living in the current situation but if they stay on the pandemic payment they're facing a payment they're facing a payment that will be caught and caught again and indeed has already been caught and the dilemma that that faces that puts taxi drivers in and the other thing then just is about taxi numbers I mean we had more taxis in Dublin than they had in New York before COVID but now the idea that the NTA would continue to issue licenses for new taxis in a situation where the industry is on the floor just seems crazy so maybe the taxi reps could just indicate a little bit about that and also just about maybe that appeal for the grants that have been giving out large stimuluses that have been given to some businesses that they should be given to taxi drivers to cover those €11,000 of annual fixed costs in relation to the licenses that have been issued by the NTA a lot a lot of them would have been wheelchair accessible grants and these individuals would have bought their vehicles would have had to have the vehicles on the road before getting the wheelchair accessible grant and now unfortunately they are committed into an industry where there is absolutely nothing but they still have to go through the whole lot the grant is for three years so they have to take up the auspices of that the NTA should have looked into the pandemic and looked at some way of reverting back from it it's not only the the old age pensioners in relation to the old age pensioners in relation to the COVID-19 having to get out there to work it's people that were on the back to work scheme as well a large amount of them would be in their second remit in relation to the payments they have three years in relation to the back to work scheme so they have no option of getting out of it either they have to subsidise their income in relation to it as well so the grants there should be a moratorium immediately putting on the issue of plates and we will have one majorly oversupplied industry with no tourism across the whole of the country in relation to it the NTA needs to look at other aspects in relation to school in relation to school transport and the rural transport system to facilitate drivers in relation to the there should be some three two or three stimulus packages a back to work or a get out of the industry sort of a grant system the same as it was given to small farmers in relation to it so it's it's it's our understanding that the national transport authority are on the verge of entering into an advertising advertising system... grand system, the same as it was given to small farmers in relation to it. It is our understanding that the National Transport Authority are on the verge of entering into an advertising recruitment campaign for taxi drivers. That is our understanding. Now, this is very worrying that they are trying to recruit people into an industry that is on its knees. We must hear from the NTA on that to assure us that they are not going to try and do this. In relation to supports for drivers, you mentioned about all the drivers and the situations they were put into. You are right. Drivers are put into a very delicate situation, a choice that they have to make their health or their finance. There is no mental issue support, if I can get the right words for it. There is no support for people with mental issues. I mentioned mental problems and the stress that this has created for people throughout Ireland. I am not just talking about taxi drivers, but because I am talking about taxi drivers, what has the government put in place to support taxi drivers? They have not contacted any of the representative groups to offer any supports or guidelines on the mental side of things. This is one of the things that has been forgotten about. In regards to the step-down payments, it has to come in. There is no way that a driver is going to step off the cliff and have no money. We have to have a step-down system in place so that drivers can go out and not be dishonest, by the way, because some drivers may think I have to go out and work while I am getting the COVID payment because I do not know where my future lie is. We want to be honest and upfront and forthright. We are looking for step-down payments so that drivers can gradually work their way back into the industry and gradually pay off the bills that have been accumulating from the fixed costs that the NTA have set down. €11,433 per year is our fixed costs and we believe they are vastly underestimated. If we were sitting in a room with the NTA now, we could double them. thank you. if you you you you you
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