Senator criticises foreign taxi drivers

A Fianna Fáil senator has called for stricter controls for foreign taxi drivers “who do not have a word of English and no clue about the city in which they are working”.

Ned O’Sullivan said there is “not a racist bone in my body”, but criticised “foreign national” drivers and said they should have to pass a test for working in Dublin, similar to London.

The Kerry senator made his remarks during a Seanad debate on planned laws that could see taxi drivers have their license suspended for bringing them on longer routes than necessary.

Senator Paschal Mooney (FF) said: “There is more than anecdotal evidence that people are driving taxis around the city who do not know one street from the other. I have experienced it myself. I am not being discriminatory when I say that it has nearly always been non-nationals who do this. It has got to the point, and I make no apologies for it, that I prefer to go to a local taxi driver rather than somebody who is obviously a non-national.

“My decision has nothing to do with the colour of his or her skin but is a response to my personal experience of hailing taxis from Connolly Station only to discover that the taxi drivers did not know how to get to Merrion Square.”

He later apologised for any offence he may have caused.

The Taxi Regulation Bill 2013 contains a new, penalty point-style system and drivers who run up enough demerits could have their licence suspended. Offences include overcharging and not providing information to enforcement officers.

Drivers with convictions for serious offences, such as manslaughter, murder, and rape, will be banned for life from operating a taxi.

There will be temporary bans for those with convictions for burglary, firearms offences, serious assault, harassment, and other areas.

Alan Kelly, the public transport minister, said a phone app would allow consumers to type in the number of a taxi and ensure the driver is registered.

Senator Sean D Barrett warned against “uninformed comment” about taxi drivers which he said was damaging their businesses.

He said there were 377 complaints against taxi drivers last year out of 75m journeys, compared to 3,700 about public servants.

Senator Susan O’Keeffe (Labour) said: “We all have both good experiences and some silly or bad experiences of journeys in taxis. Considering the millions of trips and the thousands of drivers and cars involved, it is a pretty safe industry.”

Mr O’Sullivan said there were two types of drivers: One was working to provide for his family but had seen his earning diminish since deregulation. The other was “the fellow who invariably has a dirty taxi with the radio playing at full blast who is impolite to and shows no respect for his customer. He often does not know his way around the city.”