Dublin taxi drivers ‘work 10-12 hours for less than € 50 or € 60’

TAXI DRIVERS today staged another protest outside the Dáil, claiming that the industry has been “devastated” and that they are not being supported.

The protest follows another rally last month as drivers made their way from Dublin’s Phoenix Park to Leinster House.

Today’s demo was scaled down due to Covid-19 restrictions, with the participation of several different taxi groups.

Irish Taxi Federation President Joe Herron said drivers are dealing with an 80% drop in business. He said those in Dublin City lines can wait three hours for a fee.

“That’s typical of the way things are throughout the city. And probably in most suburban ranges there is less work. What we really need is support for drivers, whether they work or not, because depression is affecting a lot of drivers, “he said.

Herron said that the industry has unfortunately had to deal with the deaths of drivers due to suicides in the past and that this is a real concern.

“We would obviously hate to see that kind of situation, obviously. But drivers are getting so depressed, they can’t make repayments on mortgages and vehicles and things like that.

In addition, drivers are used to being out and about talking to different people throughout the day and traveling to different places. And when you take that away from them, it’s very easy for depression to set in.

Taxi driver David McGuinness said he generally works outside of the College Green range in Dublin city center and that the situation is becoming very desperate.

He says that taxi drivers only have the option of receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Pay, but that a subsidy scheme would allow them to continue trying to earn a living.

“What we are asking for is the financial subsistence of the government, similar to the wage subsidy scheme that is given to the largest employers, to sustain us probably until next March or April,” he said.

The industry has been devastated. Drivers have been left with auto loans they can’t pay, mortgages they can’t pay, back-to-school costs they can’t pay.

“As an anecdote, you are listening to drivers working 10 to 12 hours for less than 50 or 60 euros, and that without discounting the costs of insurance or fuel. So he’s desperate out there. “

Speaking at the protest, Rise TD Paul Murphy said taxi drivers are “among the sectors of workers most affected by the coronavirus.”

“The crisis of the situation that taxi drivers face is that they are in a PUP that has been eliminated and they face a binary option of going back to work and losing all their PUP, in the context in which the business has declined in 70%, or staying in a puppy that is not enough to survive, “he said.

“The basic answer is quite simple, which is to allow a version of the scheme that exists for employers, which is like a wage subsidy scheme, to allow the state to pay part of people’s wages and go back to work.”