TAXI DRIVERS have vowed to “bring Dublin city to a standstill” next Thursday as drivers from across the State converge in their vehicles to protest against the number of taxi licences being issued.
About 2,500 taxi drivers marched in the capital yesterday calling for a moratorium on the issuing of licences, saying the market is now saturated and drivers cannot make a living.
Yesterday’s protest was the fourth organised by the non-union group, Taxi Drivers For Change (TDFC). In Tullamore, protesting taxi drivers handed in a letter to the Taoiseach’s constituency office, while more than 150 drivers protested in Waterford.
Jim Waldron, one of the founders of TDFC, addressed the marchers and drivers as they reached Leinster House, about an hour and a half after they had set off from Parnell Square.
He said the march had been, like the previous three, “dignified and peaceful”. However, no one from Fianna Fáil had come to meet them. In particular, he said, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey had not met them to discuss their concerns.
“We can’t keep standing here week after week being ignored and treated with contempt by Minister Dempsey,” he said.
“We have to heighten our protest. Next week colleagues will be in our cars, full stop. We will not be marching.”
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