Taxi union dissatisfied with compensation scheme

The National Taxi Drivers’ Union has reacted angrily to the news that only 49 taxi drivers will receive deregulation compensation payments before Christmas.

The Minister for Transport has announced that payments are underway to those taxi drivers who suffered "extreme financial hardship" after the deregulation of the taxi industry.

An initial payment totalling more than €600,000 is being made over the coming days to 49 drivers.

However Tommy Gorman of the National Taxi Drivers' Union says the Minister is simply making a token gesture to keep critics at bay.

"We know close to 500 have applied already and we're a little disappointed that only 49 have been processed," he said.

"We understood from what the Minister said that as soon as the applications were in and were processed, these people would receive their cheques. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."