Taxis 'Off Duty' As Strike Hits

There's to be a three-hour stoppage this afternoon as thousands of taxi drivers across Ireland are expected to withdraw services from the country's main airports, train and bus stations.

They will also stage go-slow protests through a number of major cities and towns.

The drivers, members of the Irish Taxi Council (ITC), are demanding new legislation which would put a three-year moratorium on the issuing of taxi licences.

The ITC, which says it is made up of 27 separate associations, is also calling for additional taxi ranks in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway as well as Waterford and wants insurance certificates to be checked to expose fraudulent certificates.

The council is also calling for a new system to be put in place that legally obliges applicants to undergo tests equal to or exceeding the standard required to obtain an Irish driving licence.

Other demands include proficiency in the Irish and/or English language, a relinquishing of taxi plates via the office of the regulator and a ban on renting and leasing plates where the replacement of a car does not take place.

The ITC says it has in excess of 15,000 members across the State, all of which are full-time drivers.

Last week, taxi drivers in Cork, Waterford, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo and Donegal also withdrew services in support of a sit-in by two members of the ITC at the office of the Commission of Taxi Regulation in Dublin.

(BMcC/GK)