DUBLIN taxi drivers will stop work for four hours this afternoon and take part in a mass demonstration in the Phoenix Park in protest against major changes agreed by Dublin City Council.
Councillors voted on Monday night to issue 200 new taxi plates this year, and to increase the cost of renewing taxi licences every two years from £100 to £750.
The changes were condemned yesterday by the president of the Irish Taxi Federation, Mr John Ussher, as "disgraceful . . . The whole trade is in shock". A public meeting of taxi drivers will be held at the Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park at 2 p.m., followed by a march to the Civic Offices at Fishamble Street. No taxis will run between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., except for emergencies.
The council's decision follows two studies of taxi availability in Dublin which concluded there were not enough taxis. The Irish Taxi Federation argues, however, that while there are delays at peak periods, there would not be enough business for taxi drivers at off peak times if new plates were issued.
The Marine Port and General Workers' Union, which represents hackney drivers, is also against the plan, which increases the cost of a hackney licence from £100 to £750.
The chairman of a working group of city councillors which heard submissions from interested parties, Mr Brendan Brady (Fine Gael), yesterday defended the issuing of the 200 new plates.
The last increase in taxi numbers was in 1991, he said, and since then the high economic growth rate, the growing unacceptability of drinking and driving, the proliferation of late night entertainment and the tourist boom justified an increase from 1,974 plates to 2,174.
The Fianna Fail group opposed the increase on Monday night, saying that it favoured the issuing of just 100 new licences rather than 200.
Mr Brady also defended the sharp rise in fees to renew taxi and hackney licences. "It will cost a taxi driver £375 a year," he said.
"The working group's view is that that isn't a significant cost for putting a public service vehicle on the road."
He added that up to this year the Garda Carriage Office had administered the taxi system. The corporation was taking it over for the first time this year, and had to raise money to help cover administrative costs.
Mr Ussher said, however, that the licence renewal fee had been as little as £7 in 1992. This huge increase was unacceptable, many drivers were considering refusing to pay, he said.
Some 150 new plates will be issued immediately, with another 50 on November 1st. The Corporation will review the number of licences each year for the next four years. All new taxis getting plates this year must be wheelchair accessible. The new plates will cost £25,000.
The corporation also resolved on Monday night to ask the Department of the Environment to provide for the issue of temporary taxi licences for the Christmas period, and to provide for taxi sharing by passengers.