As the Deputy is aware, the regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Consolidated Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016. I have no role in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV sector.
Taxi drivers, who are self-employed operators, make a business decision to sign up (or not) with a licensed dispatch operator such as Uber and FreeNow by Lyft, and are not obliged by the NTA to sign up with any dispatch operator.
Since I was appointed Minister for Transport, I have met with the following taxi representative groups:
• National Private Hire and Taxi Association (NPHTA).
• Irish Taxi Drivers Federation (ITDF).
• Tiomanai Tacsai na hEireann (TTnH).
• All-Ireland Taxi Association (AITA).
• Taxi Alliance of Ireland.
In addition to meeting these representative groups, I have also met with the Advisory Committee on SPSVs, (which provides advice to the Minister for Transport and NTA on matters relevant to SPSVs and their drivers) twice during 2025 and I intend to meet with the Advisory Committee again in 2026.
My department officials met with the NTA during 2025 to discuss SPSV matters. The NTA does not propose to develop a booking App for taxis.
I recently requested that the NTA conduct a regulatory assessment of dispatch operator licensing in Ireland in the context of ensuring that the regulatory framework for this element of the overall sector is sufficiently up to date and robust to respond to developments since the enactment of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013. This was in response to the introduction of the Fixed-Fare option on the Uber App. As you are already aware, Uber is licensed by the NTA to operate as a dispatch operator.
The NTA has informed me that they are developing a Call for Inputs on the dispatch operator licensing framework as a priority, and expects to publish the Call in late February/early March and intend to seek views from stakeholders as part of this process. Details of public consultations on SPSV matters can be found on the SPSV Latest News page on the NTA’s website and all stakeholders are invited to make a submission at the relevant time. A sustainable taxi sector is an important element of our transport system, and I encourage all stakeholders to take the opportunity to feed into this important piece of work, as input from stakeholders will inform the NTA's process and decision-making in revising the current dispatch operator framework.
