Taxi Drivers Strike Again In Dublin

Regulator Says That He Will Not Be Intimidated

Hundreds of taxi drivers in Dublin went on strike again on Monday as part of their continuing campaign protesting new fare structures imposed on them by taxi regulators.

The drivers held a protest meeting at The Phoenix Park in the morning then headed in convoy to the offices of The Commission for Taxi Regulation in Fitzwilliam Square.

The drivers are protesting the new maximum national fare and the end to pick-up and luggage charges for passengers who get a taxi from Dublin Airport - which they claim will cost the taxi industry almost Euro 1.5 million.

Despite the number of drivers protesting outside his office on Monday, the Taxi Regulator Ger Deering insisted that the planned reforms would be implemented on schedule.

"Part of the problem we're having is a lack of understanding of the regulatory process where you consult, you consider the findings of that consultation and then you have to decide and move on and act," he told reporters.

"And you can't then give a veto to any particular group or any particular section over those changes, it just isn't how a regulatory process can work.

"But there will be opportunities to review the fare, to look at the fare, it's a brand new fare, it will require constant implementation over time.

"Many drivers already have the fare incorporated into their meter and verified by the Legal Metrology Service so they're ready to go on September 25 so it has to go ahead and it will go ahead and we should review it and look at it over time and see how it works.

"I have to listen to all voices not just those that shout the loudest."