20% of taxi applicants last year had criminal convictions

A new Public Service Vehicle Act to improve taxi safety is urgently needed in light of shocking figures which show that 20% of those applying for licences in the last year had criminal convictions, said Fine Gael frontbench spokesperson on local government, Olivia Mitchell TD today.

"The Gardai cannot automatically refuse a licence based merely on a past criminal history. Where licences are refused the applicant can appeal to the district court and in the three most recent cases the judge overruled the Garda recommendation and granted a licence. One of these licences went to someone with a previous conviction for a sexual offence.