Taxi drivers unhappy with council’s submission
Killarney Taxi Association chairman Brian McCarthy told Monday night’s council meeting it was the “most absolutely disgraceful document” ever sent out by the council.
“The 95 taxi drivers in this town are up in arms over being compared to Mr X, the man at centre of the X case,” he declared.
Mr McCarthy used the Freedom of Information Act to get possession of the unsigned submission, sent by the council in September 2005. He said a number of councillors he had spoken to had not seen the document and knew nothing about it.
The council suspended standing orders to allow him speak on the issue. He said the submission was based on hearsay and innuendo that could leave the council open to legal action.
It claimed there was widespread suspicion of overcharging by taxi drivers, that one-in-seven drivers granted licences since deregulation had a criminal record and that the taxi drivers represented a danger to the travelling public.
It went on: “There has been numerous attacks on members of the public travelling in taxis including one involving the man at the centre of the X case, who was jailed for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.”
Mr McCarthy claimed that taxi regulator Ger Deering had used the submission to “slag off” Killarney taxis at an hoteliers’ meeting in Dublin.
Mr McCarthy called for a written apology from the town council and for the withdrawal of the document from Mr Deering.
Killarney mayor Sheila Casey said there was nothing in the submission that referred to Killarney. It was a submission to a national body on a national issue and was not locally-specific.
Cllr Niall O’Callaghan said Mr Deering should not have used a submission on a national issue to “whip” honourable, decent people working locally in Killarney.
It was agreed to write to Mr Deering pointing out that the council was referring to national issues only in relation to taxis.
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