RUSH-HOUR traffic ground to a standstill in Dublin city centre last night as scores of taxi drivers took part in impromptu industrial action.
O’Connell Street was closed in both directions from about 4pm onwards, with Pembroke Street, Fitzwilliam Square South and West and part of the Luas Red line also blocked for periods.
Taxi drivers in Cork, Waterford, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo and Donegal also withdrew services in support of a sit-in by two members of the Irish Taxi Council (ITC) at the office of the Commission of Taxi Regulation.
It was warned that the protests were likely to continue and could escalate today.
The ITC is demanding a cap on the number of taxi drivers in the industry, saying many are drawing a derisory wage, being forced to work untenable hours and struggling to support their families.
The action began when a small group identifying themselves as ITC members forced entry to the commission’s office at Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, on Monday, and refused to exit the lobby area.
Two of the men, Thomas Barton and Patrick Walsh, did not leave the offices until about 8pm last night. An interim High Court injunction ordering them to do so was granted by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy earlier in the day.
The injunction restrained trespass on the commission’s offices by members of the ITC, and Ms Justice Laffoy also ordered that no member of the ITC go within 30 metres of the two entrances to the regulator’s offices pending further order of the court. Mr Barton and Mr Walsh are to appear in the High Court this morning.
A demonstration in support of the men was called in Dublin yesterday morning, with up to 500 drivers withdrawing their service at Dublin airport from 8am. It later spread across the country.
Gardaí in Dublin were forced to divert vehicles away from O’Connell Street last night as a number of taxis were parked so as to block the flow of traffic.
Frank Byrne of the ITC said the protesters were seeking full implementation of an 11-point plan recommended by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport which, he said, had been “ignored” by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey.
The plan called for a three-year moratorium on the issuing of taxi licences, for extra taxi rank spaces to be provided by local authorities in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick, and for the practice of renting or leasing taxi licences to be discontinued.
A spokesman for Mr Dempsey said protests did not address the challenges faced by drivers and urged them to resume discussions with the taxi regulator.
“It is understood that the Commission for Taxi Regulation is having good and fruitful discussions with the other four groups representing taxi drivers. There is no reason why those involved in the current actions cannot have the same engagement.”
President of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation John Ussher, whose organisation was not involved in planning the protest, said: “All the organisations have one thing in common, we all want what’s best for taxi drivers.”