S.I. No. 3/2000 - Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 2000.

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment and Local Government by section 5 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (No. 24 of 1961) and by section 82 of that Act as amended by section 57 of the Road Traffic Act, 1968 (No. 25 of 1968) which powers were delegated to me by the Environment and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 427 of 1997 ), I, Robert Molloy, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 2000.

(2) These Regulations and the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations 1963 to 1999 shall be construed as one and may be cited as the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 to 2000.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“the Corporation” means Dublin Corporation.

“the Dublin taximeter area” means the area comprising the county borough of Dublin and the administrative counties of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin.

“the Regulations of 1995” means the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 136 of 1995 ).

“qualified person” means any person who on 31 December 1999—

(a) held a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence granted by the Corporation, or

(b) was entitled under article 16 of the Regulations of 1995 to renew a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence which had been granted by the Corporation, or

(c) was in receipt of an offer made by the Corporation for the grant of a wheelchair accessible taxi licence under article 12(2) of the Regulations of 1995 in respect of which the process for the grant of such a licence had not been completed.

(2) In these Regulations any reference to an article, a sub-article, a paragraph or a sub-paragraph which is not otherwise identified is a reference to an article, sub-article, paragraph or sub-paragraph of these Regulations.

3. For the purposes of these Regulations, the Corporation shall be the licensing authority for the Dublin taximeter area.

4. (1) Article 7 of the Regulations of 1995 shall not apply in respect of the Dublin taximeter area with effect from the coming into operation of these Regulations.

(2) Article 8(2) of the Regulations of 1995 shall not apply in respect of the Dublin taximeter area with effect from the coming into operation of these Regulations.

(3) Article 32(1) of the Regulations of 1995 shall not apply to the grant of taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences following the issue of notices under article 8.

5. Taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences to be granted in the Dublin taximeter area following the coming into operation of these Regulations shall consist of the following:—

(a) wheelchair accessible taxi licences in respect of which the Corporation have made an offer under article 12(2) of the Regulations of 1995 and in respect of which the process for the grant of such a licence had not been completed on 31 December 1999,

(b) taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences granted for the purpose of replacing licences which have not been renewed under article 16 of the Regulations of 1995, or which have been surrendered to the Corporation under article 20 of the Regulations of 1995,

(c) taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences granted to qualified persons under these Regulations,

(d) taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences granted of a number, if any, equal to the difference, if any, between the number of qualified persons from whom applications are sought under article 6 and the number of taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences which may be granted under paragraph (c), and

(e) five hundred other taxi or wheelchair accessible taxi licences to be granted in accordance with the provisions of a scheme to be determined by the Minister.

6. (1) The corporation shall seek applications in writing from all qualified persons for the grant of a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

(2) Applications under sub-article (1) must be received by the Corporation not later than 18 February 2000.

7. The fees which shall apply to the grant of a licence in respect of which a notice under article 8 is issued shall be as follows—

(a) £2,500 in respect of the grant of a taxi licence, and

(b) £250 in respect of the grant of a wheelchair accessible taxi licence.

8. (1) The Corporation shall issue a notice in writing to each qualified person that he or she may apply in writing for the grant of a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence.

(2) The notice shall indicate—

(a) the fees to apply to the grant of such licences in accordance with article 7, and

(b) that the qualified person may apply in writing for either a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence, and

(c) that an application from the qualified person must be received by the Corporation not later than 18 February 2000.

9. (1) Subject to sub-article (2), the Corporation shall make an offer to grant a wheelchair accessible taxi licence to each qualified person from whom an application for such a licence is duly received.

(2) Offers to grant a wheelchair accessible taxi licence to a qualified person who on 31 December 1999 did not hold a wheelchair accessible taxi licence shall only be made following the grant of the licence to which the offer under article 12(2) of the Regulations of 1995 relates.

10. The Corporation shall make an offer to grant a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence to each qualified person (other than a person to whom an offer has been made under article 9), from whom an application made in accordance with article 8 is duly received, in accordance with the provisions of a scheme to be determined by the Minister.

11. (1) The fee referred to in article 10 of the Regulations of 1995 shall not be applied in respect of applications received by the Corporation under article 8.

(2) Articles 11(2)(b), 12 and 13(2) of the Regulations of 1995 shall not apply in respect of the grant of licences in respect of which applications have been received by the Corporation under article 8.

12. The corporation shall only grant a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence to a person who has been made an offer for the grant of a taxi licence or a wheelchair accessible taxi licence under article 9 where paragraphs (b) and (c) of article 13(1) of the Regulations of 1995 and article 7 are complied with within a period of four months in the case of a taxi licence or six months in the case of a wheelchair accessible taxi licence from the date of the making of the offer.

13. Any condition or restriction applied by the Corporation under article 18 (5) of the Regulations of 1995 in respect of taxi licences or wheelchair accessible taxi licences granted since the coming into operation of those Regulations shall cease to have effect following 18 February 2000 and following that same date that sub-article shall not apply in respect of taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences granted under these Regulations.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These regulations provide for the submission of applications for the grant of new taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences from holders of existing licences in the Dublin taximeter area. They also provide for the grant of wheelchair accessible taxi licences to those who apply for such licences and set the fee to be paid for the grant of both taxi licences and wheelchair accessible taxi licences in the Dublin taximeter area.