2026-04-30

108. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of ongoing reports of wheelchair users being refused service by wheelchair accessible taxis in Dublin, particularly at night; the number of complaints received and penalties issued; the way in which drivers who received public funding under the wheelchair accessible vehicle, WAV, grant scheme are held accountable for refusing passengers; the immediate actions being taken to end this discrimination and guarantee equal access to taxi services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31296/26]

I welcome the huge investment in and development of private wires and look forward to the private wires system helping electrification and contributing to the solution to the issue Deputy Murphy raised regarding electrical infrastructure. The private wires Bill can reduce timelines for the installation of renewable projects and electric infrastructure. I come to my question on the WAV grant scheme. I have been contacted by people in my constituency who are wheelchair users and are being refused by taxis despite the fact the taxis have received grants for wheelchair accessibility.

I thank the Deputy for his ongoing advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities and his good work with Ciarán Delaney, whom we both engage with. If there are complaints, I encourage the Deputy to ask the people affected to log them and we will take it up. It is important we have that data. The regulation of the small public service vehicle, SPSV, sector, including the compliance, enforcement and administration of the wheelchair accessible vehicle grant scheme, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the NTA, under the provisions of the consolidated Taxi Regulation Act. The Minister and I have no role in the matter. The Department has been informed that, in relation to Dublin, the NTA has received 13 WAV-related complaints in the last 12 months, with 11 received in the previous 12-month period. Any person who receives a WAV grant from the NTA must complete mandatory disability awareness training. It is a condition of receipt of any portion of the grant that the proposed driver of the WAV must either undertake the free half-day SPSV-specific disability awareness training provided by the NTA or provide evidence that they have completed a SPSV-specific disability awareness training course during the three years prior to the application date for a WAV grant. Not all WAVs are grant aided. In 2024, 346 non-grant-aided WAV taxi and hackney licences were added to the SPSV fleet, alongside WAV grants given to 372 new SPSV licenceholders. To support all licenceholders and not just grant recipients in providing WAV services, the NTA extended free training to all SPSV licenceholders at the start of last year. Operators can undertake the training as often as required, free of charge, to ensure that they are confident to provide such services to a high standard for passengers. There will be no ambiguity from us. The passenger experience must be to a high standard. There can be no obfuscation. I encourage wheelchair users to log their complaints.

I thank the Minister of State for his engagement on the matter. I have constituents who are left waiting hours for wheelchair accessible taxis that will take them. In response to a parliamentary question I submitted last July, the NTA acknowledged what the Minister of State just said. It stated it was giving training for the safe use of lifts and clamping systems and that, since that January, the training had been provided free of charge. I welcome that but the most common excuse given to constituents who have contacted me is that drivers are saying they are unable to operate the lift. That does not stand up to scrutiny. All holders of wheelchair accessible licences have a statutory obligation to provide the service. This issue has been raised with me and my former colleagues on Dublin City Council, including Councillor Nial Ring and Councillor Kevin Breen, who are working with local residents. How many complaints have been received and penalties issued? Are drivers who received public money under the WAV scheme being held to account if they refuse passengers? It is not acceptable that we are giving money to drivers through a grant to make a vehicle accessible but they are not taking people with disabilities.

I concur with the Deputy that that should not be the experience of people. The NTA has been working to make it easier for taxi drivers nationally and locally to increase the numbers available to passengers. The last year for which statistics are available is 2025. The NTA received 1,815 complaints regarding SPSVs compared to 1,713 in 2014. Complaints related to the condition of the vehicle, driver behaviour, hiring matters, as the Deputy articulated, and fare matters. The majority of complaints, 976, were fare matters, while driver behaviour accounted for 368 and 396 were hiring matters. I will come back to the Deputy on fixed-charge notices. My information is that four were given, which might seem small in the overall scheme but the percentage of complaints is quite low, given the number of taxis we have and journeys undertaken. I would be happy to engage with the Deputy further on the matter outside the Chamber.

I will send it over to the Minister of State's office. I can give cases of constituents with physical disabilities who have been refused collection by taxis. There are also taxi drivers who have built up records and submitted them to the NTA showing how many people with physical disabilities they collect but who then did not get the grant. I ask that when the next grant comes out for accessibility or renewal of the lift in the back of the taxi, taxi men and women with a proven record of doing the job the grant is given for are prioritised, rather than it being a lottery scheme. If that is already being done, will the Minister of State show me the steps? I will send him correspondence from the NTA stating it is not doing this currently.

I think there was one fixed-charge notice fine this year. The range of fines has gone from €80 to €250. Around 20% of the fleet comprises wheelchair accessible vehicles; I think it is about 4,836. It is an important matter and deserves the attention the Deputy gives it. If a person has a complaint, they should log it so that we can follow through. We must make it easier and we are providing training and that accessibility peice for the taxi driver. I take the Deputy's point on board. We are on a journey and must continue that journey. It is because of people like the Deputy that we are seeing that mindset being changed. I commend him on his work.