Taxi-drivers claim they face confusion over their legal obligations following the extension of penalty points to cover seat belt offences.
Seat belt legislation has been in place for some time, but the extension of the penalty points system to cover these offences means certain "grey areas" which previously existed have new implications for taxi-drivers, according to Mr Tommy Gorman, president of the National Taxi Drivers' Union. (NTDU)
Where as before they faced a fine for non-compliance, taxi- drivers now risk losing their licence if a person under 17 refuses to wear a seat belt.
The NTDU has now appealed to gardaí to show some leeway in the interpretation of the law.
"We would be concerned that penalty points now apply to someone who earns a living from their car. If a taxi-driver is breaking the law, a fine is more of a justification," said Mr Gorman.
The confusion amongst taxi-drivers comes following the admission by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, that he was wrong to say parents would get penalty points if they had extra children in their cars without enough seatbelts.
"One of the main problems for taxi-drivers is that whereas a publican can ask for identification to see if someone is under 17, this is harder to do for a taxi driver. Lots of 17-year-olds can look 20 years old," said Mr Gorman.
" If a taxi-driver tells a person to belt up and they decide to unbelt, and you are then stopped at a checkpoint, are they liable?" he continued. "We have no control over someone even if they are under 17."
The Department of Transport said the application of the law is a matter "entirely between the taxi-driver and the passenger".
"If you are found to be carrying a passenger under 17 years of age then the law applies," she said.
"When seat belts are provided they should be used. If a taxi-driver picks up two people under 17 and they refuse to wear their seat belt, it is the taxi-driver who is responsible. He does not have to take them."
A spokeswoman for the Garda press office yesterday said that a "common-sense" approach by gardaí to each individual case usually prevails. However, the legislation which is in place does need to be enforced, she said.
Mr Brennan also recently announced plans to introduce seat belts on all new additions to the school bus fleet.
However, there are at present no plans to introduce seat belts on all public and private buses, the Department of Transport yesterday confirmed, although this might be subject to change.