Deregulation must not be abandoned because we never again want to queue at a rank with no taxis

YOUR columnist Matt Cooper’s comments (March 13) on the never-ending saga of taxi deregulation is short on fact and displays a sympathy for the taxi industry which is undeserved.

I would certainly not be indifferent to the plight of taxi drivers if the information which their various representatives provide to the public was substantiated by fact, but they have been crying wolf for so long now it is difficult to take them at face value.

Even during the halcyon days when licences were changing hands for sums in excess of €130,000, they brought Dublin city to a standstill whenever the concept of deregulation was floated.