Do taxi drivers need passenger partitions for safety?

Minister of State for Public Transport Alan Kelly will seek the views of taxi drivers and the public on whether or not "separation partitions" should be installed in cars to protect drivers from potentially violent passengers.

Mr Kelly, who has responsibility for the taxi industry, has launched a consultation process to improve taxi driver safety following a spate of serious carjacking incidents.

“There have been a number of incidents recently that have highlighted the vulnerable position many taxi drivers are in, especially when they are working late hours and on isolated streets,” Mr Kelly said.

“I think we should be open to all ideas and suggestions and be informed by the views of taxi drivers. I wouldn’t be in favour of a separation partition, but I’d prefer to get the views of taxi drivers and the wider public before coming to a final decision.”

Clear partitions separating the driver front seat area from the remainder of the vehicle are a feature of traditional London black cabs and the instantly recognisable yellow taxis of New York.

Among the other options that could be considered in the consultation process are in-vehicle security cameras and locational alert systems.

Mr Kelly, who is running for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, said he had asked the National Transport Authority to commence a taxi driver safety consultation and he urged all involved or interested in the industry to have their say, “particularly the statutory taxi advisory committee”.

His intervention comes after Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said this week he was "very worried" about a spate of carjackings in the last number of months.

There have been at least five relatively high-profile and often violent incidents of late, most of them in Dublin. A pregnant woman was assaulted in one incident near Mountjoy Square in Dublin.

In another incident, a female passenger was injured when four men involved in a collision with a bus in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, stole a black Mercedes after it had stopped to lend them assistance.

“I’m very worried about it actually myself. Carjackings are not something that happen commonly in Ireland, but there have been five in the last couple of months, some affecting taxi drivers, others just affecting ordinary motorists,” Mr Varadkar said.

Mr Varadkar said a ministerial-level road safety committee met every few months and he would ask for carjackings to be on the agenda for the next meeting.