Deregulation of Dublin's taxis would worsen the service for users, according to a new report commissioned by the taxi-drivers' representatives.
Deregulation was recommended in a report commissioned by Dublin Corporation and published last June. It proposed the issuing of more new licence plates and an end to many of the current restrictions on hackney drivers.
The new report, by an economic consultant, Mr Brendan Lynch, was commissioned by the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation and the National Taxi Drivers' Union. It says deregulation would lead to a "chaotic, unsavoury" service in which visiting business people and tourists were likely to be overcharged.
The report says visitors to a city are dependent on public transport, as it is difficult to drive a hired car in an unfamiliar city. "Taxi-drivers play an important promotional role for a city - without charge."
The basic problem, the report says, lies not with Dublin's taxi service but with its transport system overall. "The latter is functioning very badly due to a combination of poor planning, under-investment and rapid economic growth." The taxi service shows many strains caused by a poor bus service or traffic congestion.
The report contrasts Dublin unfavourably with Cork which, it says, adopted the Land Use and Transportation Study re port in 1979 and has enjoyed a consistent structure to its development plans since then.
It says the biggest obstacle to Dublin working efficiently is that the public transport network is poor and fares are too high, according to the report.