€20m taxi driver fund speculation, say leaders

TAXI driver leaders yesterday described as speculation reports that a €20m fund was being made available to members who lost large sums of money because of deregulation.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan is expected to meet leaders of taxidrivers’ unions within the next two weeks concerning the report of the three-member Hardship Committee set up to examine the taxidrivers’ plea for compensation.

Deregulation was introduced two years and according to SIPTU Taxi official Jerry Brennan the number of taxi license plates jumped from 3,974 nationally to more than 9,000 in Dublin alone.

Mr Brennan said that they expected to meet the minster shortly about the Hardship Committee’s report to ascertain exactly what compensation would be forthcoming.

“People are now doing all sorts of extra hours to maintain their payments and family life has become a thing of the past,” said Mr Brennan.

He said that large numbers of his members had paid between £60,000 to £90,000 for a taxi plate which could now be bought for just €5,000.

It is understood that under the settlement plan widows and those who are ill will be the main beneficiaries while those who held multiple plates will not receive any compensation.

John Usher of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation said that his members would be very disappointed if €20m was the top figure agreed to by the minister.

Asked if the taxi unions would take strike acton over the issue, he said they would first have to consider what emerged from the Hardship Committee’s report.