Taxi drivers in Dublin are to stage a work-stoppage next Monday in protest over the effects of deregulation on the industry.
Drivers will not operate between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the first of three half-day stoppages. The following evening drivers will stop work for four hours from 7 p.m. and a further stoppage is planned for the following Monday, February 10th, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Mr Jerry Brennan of SIPTU, said all action will only affect collections from ranks at Dublin Airport in an effort to limit disruption to the public.
He said drivers are concerned about recent incidents of new taxi drivers engaging in alleged criminal activity. "All you have to do is look at the media reports, we said these things would happen and we've been proved right," Mr Brennan said.
He is also concerned about "double jobbing"; where workers in other industries take to the streets as taxi drivers after working their regular day. He said the practice creates a danger to passengers and other road-users.
The arrival of new transport services such as LUAS is also a concern for drivers who say they are struggling to make a living under current conditions.
Following the snap decision to deregulate by then minister Mr Bobby Molloy in 2000, over 6,000 drivers have entered the trade causing the value of plates, once trading at €100,000, to be wiped out.
"Our members are calling on the Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, to suspend the issuing of Public Service Vehicles licences until such time as the industry is regulated by a statutory body," he added.