SPSV Compliance Activities in April 2014
The introduction of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 at the beginning of April has meant that additional resources have been available to the Authority’s Compliance Team. A number of general compliance checks and pre-planned operations, many with the assistance of Gardaí, have resulted in a number of successful detections and also prosecutions at court during the first month of operation of the new legislation.
During April a total of 12 unlicensed operators were detected in different areas of the country. These comprised:
- 5 unlicensed operators detected in Tipperary in a number of operations undertaken jointly with Gardaí;
- 2 unlicensed operators in Dublin;
- 2 unlicensed operators in Cork;
- 1 unlicensed operator in Kerry;
- 1 unlicensed operator in Carlow; and
- 1 unlicensed operator in Donegal.
In one of the operations in Tipperary, a vehicle was seized and an operator was arrested by Gardai for obstructing a Compliance Officer.
Each case will now be processed for prosecution at the respective District Courts.
In total during April, over one thousand, three hundred small public service vehicles have been checked by compliance officers. As well as the above pending prosecutions for unlicensed operators, 80 Fixed Charge Penalties have been issued to vehicle drivers, with 45 of these penalties issued to drivers who were not associated to the vehicle that they were driving.
During April, a number of convictions were also secured at various District Courts. At the Dublin District Court:
- Three individuals were convicted of operating without a valid SPSV Vehicle Licence;
- Four individuals were convicted of operating without a valid SPSV Driver’s Licence;
- Three drivers were convicted after they had failed to pay Fixed Charge Penalties which had been issued to them; and
- One conviction was obtained for a vehicle licence holder who had allowed an unlicensed driver to operate his vehicle.
In addition, at the District Court in Tipperary, one operator was convicted of operating without a valid SPSV Driver’s Licence.