249. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Transport if his Department is aware of the black market for the rental and sale of taxi licence plates; if so, the measures that will be introduced to ensure that this issue is resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50738/26]

250. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Transport if his Department will consider allowing the NTA to rebuy taxi licence plates from taxi drivers at market value, to be reissued to qualified taxi drivers, which will stop illegal black-market sales of licence plates when taxi drivers conclude; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50739/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 249 and 250 together.

The regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including SPSV licensing, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Consolidated Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016. I have no role in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV sector.

Section 14(1) of the Taxi Regulation 2013 Act placed a prohibition on the transferability of vehicle licences, such that all SPSV licences are unique to the person to whom the licence has been issued and cannot be transferred or sold to another person. This follows a recommendation in the 2011 Taxi Regulation Review Report that a licence should determine a person’s suitability to carry out a function, and it should not have monetary value or be traded on the open market.

There is only one exemption to this non-transferability restriction; upon the death of the holder of a vehicle licence, another person who has been “nominated” by the licence holder prior to his or her death, may apply to NTA to continue to operate the licence. If that person is found to be a suitable person to hold a licence, i.e. fulfils all the terms and conditions applying to any licence holder (including tax compliance), the NTA may transfer the vehicle licence to that nominated person. In 2022, the Advisory Committee on SPSVs indicated that it is not in favour of reverting to a legal situation which allows for the transferability of SPSV licences. The then Minister considered the Committee's Report and accepted the Committee's advice that the transferability of SPSV licences should not be allowed, and that remains the position.

It may be of interest to the Deputy that the NTA published a special SPSV compliance edition of its industry bulletin to its website recently. This sets out how a person can legally operate in the taxi sector and can be viewed at this link: www.nationaltransport.ie/news/spsv-industry-update-issue-72/

SPSV Regulations permit a vehicle licence owner to rent out or lease the insured and licensed SPSV to another person without actual money changing hands. SPSV licences may be held by self-employed individuals or companies. There is no requirement on the licence holder to drive the vehicle. The vehicle licence owner providing the rental package must be the registered owner of the vehicle (or be entitled to use it as an SPSV for a minimum period of 12 months), have the vehicle licensed in their name, and must provide the insurance on the vehicle. That is normally included in the rental fee to the licensed driver.

The licence holder is the only party the NTA may engage with in respect of SPSV licensing activity. The SPSV licence holder providing the rental must notify NTA of the rental, either using NTA’s online system, or by calling the SPSV Information Line. They must provide the NTA with the details of the period of the arrangement, the renter’s SPSV driver licence number and the vehicle registration number. They must also maintain a record of the vehicle licence associated with the rental agreement.

Given the NTA's responsibility in the area of SPSV licensing, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you have not received a reply within 10 working days.