Taxi-drivers began voting yesterday in a ballot about whether they will accept Government plans to double the number of taxis in Dublin. The result will be known tomorrow.
Warning that the ballot could result in strike action, Mr John Ussher, of the Irish Taxi Federation, described the mood among members as angry. He said the proposal to introduce more than 3,000 new licences was not balanced. "My gut feeling is that it is looking like a strike." Dublin Corporation, the taxi licensing authority, will begin sending out letters to around 2,700 taxi licence-holders at the end of this week. The letters will advise them that they can apply for either a conventional licence costing £2,500, or for one of 500 wheelchair-accessible licences at £500.
Meanwhile, SIPTU's regional secretary, private sector, Mr Jack Nash, confirmed that representatives of a group numbering about 1,000 drivers had approached him with a view to establishing a branch within the union.
"The taxi-drivers are not in a group that will be taken seriously at the moment," said Mr Nash.
Mr Vincent Kearns, vice-president of the National Taxi Drivers' Union, warned against a split.