Taxi drivers put pressure on Minister

Taxi drivers represented by SIPTU are considering taking legal action against the State in order to speed up the appointment of a taxi regulator.

The union will hold an emergency general meeting next Tuesday in Finglas to discuss the matter.

The meeting will consider what action they will take to bring pressure on the Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, to establish a regulator for the taxi industry.

The move follows the death of 57-year-old Niall Mulvihill a known gangland figure, shot in his taxi on Spencer Dock Quay in Dublin last night.

Meanwhile another taxi driver is due to appear in court shortly to face charges in connection with an attack on three women in Rathmines in Dublin yesterday.

SIPTU's Dublin Taxi Drivers Branch official, Jerry Brennan, says members are upset that nothing is being done. "Our members are obviously very angry at the shadow which today's two stories concerning taxi drivers cast over their integrity," said Mr Brennan.

He said the negative publicity highlights the need for greater control of the issuing of Public Service Vehicle licences in consultation with the gardaí.

"Our members have been calling for proper regulation of the industry for over a year now and this latest development underlines the need for the immediate establishment of a statutory body with powers to regulate the taxi industry," said Mr Brennan.

Fine Gael's Olivia Mitchell called on Minister Brennan to immediately address what she called "the chaos in the taxi industry".

"Trading safety for numbers is not a choice we should have to make. The very least the public is entitled to is a licensed service in which they can have confidence for their personal safety. This is no longer the case in Dublin," she said.