“I had a woman in the car the other day who left the Mater Hospital after waiting 26 hours to see somebody,” says David McGuinness, a Dublin taxi driver of 23 years.
“There was something wrong with her stomach, she didn’t know what, but her GP advised her to go to the A&E,” the Swords native says, adding that the woman opted to leave and return to her GP rather than wait any longer to be seen.
“If this is happening when we’ve had money for the last 10 or 12 years, what’s it going to be like when the money dries up?”
Mr McGuinness, who was one of several taxi drivers to share their views with The Irish Times ahead of the general election, is concerned that voters will be “fooled” by the “Simon Harris bounce”.
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He explains that the outgoing Taoiseach is promising voters “the sun, moon and stars after 10 years in Government”.
“They only remember the last six months, rather than the last 10 years,” he says, believing voters were “bought off” with the recent budget, “yet their children can’t buy homes and there’s mass emigration from educated people because they can’t get on the housing ladder”.
Not a steadfast supporter of any party in particular, he has floated between parties on the left, he says, speaking through his window while parked at a taxi rank on Dublin’s College Green.
He laments “reckless spending”, with notable examples including the €335,000 bike shelter at Leinster House, and the much delayed €2.2 billion National Children’s Hospital, or as he describes it, “the big hole in the ground”.
This spending amid crises in healthcare and housing concerns him, particularly now that the next government will have €14.1 billion in Apple tax money to play with.
Joe Flanagan, a 71-year-old taxi driver of more than three decades, is parked directly facing Trinity College Dublin, eating his lunch.
“They need to get a grip with Dublin,” he says.
Mr Flanagan would love to see his native Dublin brought “somewhat back to the way it was”.
“I’ve walked across the city all my life and it’s a little bit uneasy now. It’s gone downhill over the last number of years, people don’t feel as safe as they used to. I think there needs to be a better Garda presence,” he says, adding that passengers often remark on safety concerns and open drug use.
David Cummins has only been a taxi driver for about 12 months, a venture he “loves”.
“It gives me the opportunity to talk to everyone,” he says.
Asked what he hears from passengers in the lead-up to the general election, “at the end of the day, the common one is housing,” he replies, standing in front of his van, arms crossed.
“Always” a counsellor to his passengers, he hears endlessly about housing woes from members of the public.
For him, the cost of living is a challenge, as he struggles particularly with petrol costs which remain “very high”, noting that he spends about €250 per week to fill his van, a significant chunk of his earnings.
While also operating a new touring business, he works on the side as a celebrant.
“It’s tough to keep going [as a taxi driver] full time, hence the reason why I have a couple of balls in the air,” he says.
Parked across the street from Mr Cummins at Foster Place is John O’Neill, a taxi driver for 20 years, who says there “has to be a change” in government.
“It’s hard when you see Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael getting together to keep Sinn Féin out,” he says, adding that he would like to see Mary Lou McDonald “put her money where her mouth is.”
“She talks the talk but she never got a chance to do anything about it,” the 71-year-old says.
“It’s going to have to change, the transport minister has made a shite of everything,” he says, pointing at cycle lanes encased with bollards a few feet away from the front of his car.
“It’s a very stressful job now because of what’s happening with all of the bikes and everything on the roads,” he says.
Fellow taximan Paul O’Dowd has “no interest” in the general election.
“It’s been a bad day,” he says, adding: “It’s always bad at this time of year with people saving for Christmas.”
A taxi driver for nearly 30 years, it is harder to make money now, he says.
“People just don’t have the money,” he says, adding that public transport improvements in recent years have affected passenger numbers.
“The only saving grace is they haven’t built anything out to the airport,” he says, adding that as soon as the Metrolink is finished, “good luck”.
“Whoever gets in, the government makes no difference, they’ll all just be rowing with each other again,” he says, seemingly drained by hearing about government parties pledge varying housing targets, which he believes are unrealistic.
“I can’t even get a plumber so how are they going to build those houses?”
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