Taxi drivers who staged a protest in Dublin earlier today will withdraw their services for 24 hours next month.
About 400 drivers took part in a protest organised by the Taxi Drivers For Change organisation around lunch-time, while about 15 members of Siptu demonstrated at Dublin airport this morning.
The larger protest set off in two convoys of vehicles from the Airside retail park in Swords and the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Clondalkin at 9.00 am, making their way to the Commission for Taxi Regulation in Fitzwilliam Square by noon, where they held a rally.
The Siptu drivers resumed their protests at Dublin airport between 7 am and 11 am.
Both groups were protesting at what they say is an oversupply of taxis throughout the State since deregulation of the industry. They are calling for a halt to the issuing of licenses, arguing that it is impossible for drivers to make a living wage.
Frank Byrne, one of the organisers of the Taxi Drivers For Change protest, said this was their seventh protest and there had been no change in the regulator's policy of issuing licenses, nor from the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey.
"But we're not going away. We are going to have to have a total stop on April 1st, from noon, until noon on the April 2nd. We're stopping and if one day is not enough we will have to stop for longer," he told drivers gathered at Fitzwilliam Square.
He called on members of other drivers' unions and organisations to join in their stoppage and implored all taxi drivers to "stick together".
Many of those who took part in the protest had put posters supporting the Irish Cancer Society's annual fundraising drive, 'Daffodil Day', which is today. They also collected donations for the charity, following calls to radio programmes yesterday for them to postpone their protest as it might distract from Daffodil Day.
Mr Byrne explained numbers taking part in today's protest were lower than in previous ones because the organisers had "put the word out that anyone who felt uncomfortable with demonstrating the same day as Daffodil Day could decide not to take part."
At Dublin Airport, about 15 drivers staged a protest at the roundabout at the airport entrance, carrying placards. There was no adverse impact on passengers, a spokeswoman for the airport said.
Gerry Brennan, organiser of the Siptu taxi branch, said the protest "went well" and further actions, at different locations would be announced "in coming days".
Asked whether he would support his members taking part in a work-stoppage on April 1st, he said he supported the right of any driver to withdraw his or her services, or to protest "as long as its done legally".
He said Siptu had begun its protests about the state of the industry "before the lads in Taxi Drivers For Change" and the union would pursue its campaign.