Taxi groups condemn death threat

Groups representing taxi drivers have issued a joint statement distancing themselves from death threats made against taxi regulator Kathleen Doyle.

It was reported yesterday that the taxi regulator had recently received a number of threats including a bullet through the post.

The statement, issued on behalf of the four main taxi unions The National Taxi Drivers Union, The Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, National Private-hire and Taxi Assocation and Siptu strongly condemned the threats and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

The representative groups said they would give their full co-operation to any Garda investigation into the threats.

Gardaí have refused to comment on the matter.

The development comes over a week after the unions requested the resignation of Ms Doyle due to what unions say is her contribution to the current state of the industry.

Representatives of the National Taxi Drivers’ Union (NTDU), the Irish Taxi Drivers’ Federation, Siptu and the National Private Hire and Taxi Association handed a letter into the Commission for Taxi Regulation’s Dublin office.

Unions are set to ask Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey in the next few weeks to put a moratorium on taxi licences.

They hope to meet Mr Dempsey when they receive independent analysis of the Goodbody economic review on the taxi industry.

Mr Gorman said there was little appetite out there for the recent driver work stoppages. He said dialogue was instead the way forward.

An increase in the taxi driver’s licence fee from €3 to €250 on May 1st was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” which “didn’t go down well with the industry”, Mr Gorman said.

However, the regulator said the taxi driver licence fee increase was necessary to cover administration costs.

The fee had not been increased since 1977.