Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív criticised the pilot Hackney licensing scheme as ludicrous and said its conditions left many rural communities without services. He argued licences were being tied to areas in ways that did not reflect how normal taxi licences operate and welcomed the minister's acknowledgement that a review is under way and a more open second iteration should be considered.
Main criticisms
The Deputy said the conditions of the pilot scheme were ludicrous and overly restrictive. He highlighted that the scheme's rules led to refusals in places such as West Connemara and left many areas without Hackney services.
Rural impact and West Connemara
The speech emphasised the effect on rural communities where providers who travel to towns or cities to deliver services were treated as local operators, excluding parts of the countryside. The Deputy used West Connemara as an example of areas refused licences because of the scheme's application rules.
Licence rules versus normal taxi licences
The Deputy noted the Hackney licence in the pilot was tied to a specific area to provide the service, which he contrasted with a normal taxi licence that allows operation anywhere. He also said some scheme conditions aimed to prevent competition with long distance taxi services.
Government response and review
The minister acknowledged the concerns and said a review of the pilot scheme is starting. Both the Deputy and the minister indicated a second, more open iteration of the scheme should be considered to allow more areas to apply and avoid undermining existing services.
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Minister, would you agree, as the Deputy has said, that the conditions of the scheme were ludicrous? For example, people refused in areas such as West Connemara on the basis that there were already taxes in the area. The base of the taxes had been in the area that people who lived in rural areas who went to the towns or the cities to actually provide the service were considered to be providing a local service. And that lots of areas, as the Deputy has said, have been totally left without Hackney services as a result. The idea was that the Hackney that got the license would be tied to the area to provide the service in the area, which is not true about a normal taxi license. You can provide the service anywhere you want. You're correct. I think in reviewing, and this is only starting, the pilot scheme, one of the things we should look at is it was too restrictive in terms of the places that could, could be applied. And that was done for good reason, in terms of not wanting to undermine existing services. But I think as we come back for a second iteration, I think we might look towards a much more open scheme, which will allow it to apply. And as you say, there were other conditions in the scheme, which meant it wouldn't be competing with long distance taxi services. So that is one of the issues that I think we should look at, to be much more open as to which areas might be able to apply. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You have to get started. Thank you. Thank you. Thank- futurist of Bristol,
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