October 1, 2013

Sinn Fein transport spokesperson, Dessie Ellis TD, has said that the new taxi regulation which will be passed in the Dáil tomorrow will do little to make the industry more sustainable. He made his comments as the government prepares to move its Taxi Regulation Bill.
Deputy Ellis said:
“This bill contains some good measures to improve the way the Taxi Regulator works and to improve how taxi licences are awarded, but it does not deal directly with the major problem facing the industry.
“There is a massive oversupply of taxis which is leaving many people who depend on taxi driving as their sole livelihood suffering badly. Taxi drivers have been hit hard by the recession because there were no controls on how many taxis could be licenced.
“The Minister undertook a long period of consultation but seems to not have taken notice of the need for a solution to this problem. He is intent on making business harder for taxi drivers by heaping more costs on them but that doesn’t solve the problem.
“The fault in the system has not been fixed and because of that we will experience it again and again.
“Also, unfortunately, the Minister is intent on barring former political prisoners from employment. A section of this bill is in direct contradiction of the Good Friday Agreement which was endorsed overwhelming by the people of this island.”

September 30, 2013

Sinn Fein transport spokesperson, Dessie Ellis TD, has welcomed the decision by MEPs to reject the extension of maximum working hours for pilots.
Deputy Ellis said:
“I have met with pilots and members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association and it is clear that the conditions experienced by many pilots is not conducive to the observation of the best safety standards.
“If we were to make the job of pilots even harder by extending maximum flight hours I would have been very worried for the potential consequences. Pilots already work long hours, with large periods of on-call time, which dramatically damages their work-life balance.
“A UK study found an alarming 43% of pilots have fallen asleep at their flight deck. These plans could have seen pilots operating for 16 hours straight in a day shift. It is well documented that working hours of this length diminish greatly the ability of pilots to do their job and stay alert.
“We should not be playing with lives here. Any flight time policy should be based on conclusive research and, so far, that research shows pilots are already working longer hours than they should be. When you are transporting so many passengers safety must come before greater profit.”
ends