A taxi industry regulator is to be established the Minister for Transport, Mr Breenan has announced.
Mr Brennan hopes to have the Office of National Taxi Regulator set up by February next.
The move comes 24 hours before a planned taxi-drivers' protest in Dublin tomorrow. The taxi-drivers' unions - the National Taxi Drivers' Union, Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation and SIPTU - are staging the protest to highlight a number of issues, including deregulation which took effect this time last year.
Although one of the unions' demands has been for a taxi industry regulator the protest will not be called off. Mr Tommy Gorman of the NTDU said they were very pleased with the Minister's announcement but it was too late to call off tomorrow's protest.
"We're pleased even though it was a long time coming. We hope by February the taxi industry won't be beyond repair. But we can't blame Mr Brennan, he is only in the job six months.
"A plan for the protest is in place for a number of weeks now. Had his [Mr Brennan's] announcement come a week or so ago it might have had some bearing on it."
Mr Gorman said the unions met with senior gardaí this morning about traffic disruption likely to be caused tomorrow. While up to 700 cars may assemble in the Phoenix Park at 1 p.m. most will disperse when the convoy reaches O'Connell Bridge. Only 40 cars will be allowed to proceed to Kildare Street.
"We are putting the word out that we are trying to keep the numbers down. We want the minimum amount of disruption possible, we don't want the public on our backs", Mr Gorman added.
In a statement today Mr Brennan said the overall role of the new taxi regulator would be to provide for "full effective control over the promotion of a professional, efficient and customer-friendly service by taxis, hackneys and limousines".
The Regulator will be responsible for the control of standards, the issuing of licences and the related fees. It will have the power to suspend or remove licences for drivers who breach standards. The Regulator will set about developing a standard colour for all vehicles.
"It is now time to bring forward legislation that will bring stability to the industry, develop a proper and effective structure, establish lasting career opportunities for all those involved, and offer the customer a service that is modern, efficient and operated to the highest standards," Mr Brennan said.
