I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"fully supports the initiatives taken by the Minister of State Deputy Molloy in relation to the taxi industry, namely the making of new orders for the industry and supports his efforts to provide a better service for the travelling public;
calls on the Government to continue the implementation of the regulations over the coming weeks and notes that Minister of State Deputy O'Dea has reaffirmed his support for Government policy on all matters including the Government's policy in relation to taxis; and
further notes the Government's commitment to a process of dialogue with existing licence holders and its readiness to provide special tax allowances and an administrative scheme in relation to certain licence fees by way of mitigation for appropriate cases."
I have been deeply concerned at the position of widows and others who could suffer particular hardship as a result of this issue; the amendment shows that the Government is in agreement with the Opposition on that point.
This Government has been concerned to improve the quality and availability of taxi services to the public in Dublin and other urban areas. A background to this concern was the fail ure of the previous Government to make any impact on the chronic taxi deficit in Dublin. No new taxi licences were issued in Dublin under the previous Government. Between 1997 and 1999, some 750 new wheelchair accessible taxi licences were granted by Dublin Corporation. While this limited increase in taxi supply was welcome, the present Government determined in late 1999 that a much greater supply of taxis was needed in Dublin to meet public demand. That is why we developed our radical initiative for the issue of 3,100 new Dublin taxi licences. This initiative was followed up by new regulations made by the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Molloy, in January of this year.
Members will be aware that these regulations were struck down by the High Court in a judgment which was finalised on 14 November. In that judgment, the High Court made it clear that limitation of taxi licences in the interest of existing licence holders cannot be contemplated. The outcome of the court case called for a modified policy approach to the issues involved but the direction and resolve of the Government's proposed reforms has not altered.
In light of the High Court judgment, the Government determined that it would not be reasonable or desirable to maintain quantitative controls on taxi licences such as have operated for more than 20 years. Accordingly, the new regulations do not place or authorise any restriction on the number of new taxi licences which will be granted by local licensing authorities. These changes apply not just to Dublin but also to taxi services operating in all other taximeter areas.
The regulations provide, in accordance with EU requirements, for more frequent and systematic testing of taxis and other public service vehicles. This function is to be discharged annually rather than biannually in future by National Car Testing Services Ltd. and for a transitional period, vehicle testing by Garda public service vehicle inspectors, including the Dublin Carriage Office, will continue in parallel with NCTS testing.
By 1 January 2002, taxis must be fitted with taximeters which are capable of printing automatic receipts. The new regulations also validate the operation of taxi sharing from taxi stands designated by local authorities for this purpose. All of these new provisions, together with the continuation of existing requirements for public service vehicle driver licensing and insurance, are designed to ensure an improved quantity and quality of service to customers in the new situation. The Government looks forward to a rapid improvement in taxi services under the new arrangements. In addition, the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, intends to consult extensively with representatives of consumer groups, people with disabilities and taxi service providers in order to develop further quality improvements in taxi services in the medium term.
There is a continuing need to promote and give an incentive for the provision of wheelchair accessible taxis. It is also desirable to ensure that new applications for taxi licences are bona fide for the purpose of providing public service. With these considerations in mind, the regulations fix the fee for the grant of the new taxi licence at £5,000 and for new wheelchair accessible taxi licences at £100.
It is not practicable to maintain a universal requirement of wheelchair accessibility in the short-term given that early and rapid progress is needed to respond to customer demand for taxis. However, Deputy Molloy has put on record his intention that the process of making all taxi vehicles wheelchair accessible will commence from the end of 2003. Taxi service providers should gear themselves to this requirement. The Government calls on taxi service providers to respond positively to the challenges and opportunities which will be offered by the new business environment which the regulations will establish.
We acknowledge that the adjustments which have been necessitated will be difficult for many existing taxi operators. However, we are confident that with appropriate organisation and marketing, these operators and others can achieve good results given the present urgent and buoyant demand for enhanced taxi services.
In view of the many changes which are now taking place, certain recent holders of wheelchair accessible taxi licences will be in a position of having paid much higher licence fees to local authorities than those which will now obtain. The Minister intends to consult local authorities and taxi representative bodies with a view to developing an administrative scheme to address this situation. In addition, the Minister for Finance will consider a provision to allow tax relief over a number of years for any actual capital loss incurred by existing taxi licence holders by reference to the sum paid for the licence. The details will be published in the Finance Bill, 2001.
As the capital of a rapidly expanding economy, Dublin has seen increasing demand for mobility in all modes of travel. The volume of traffic passing through Dublin Airport has more than doubled since 1993, reaching almost 13 million in 1999. There are now in the region of 122 hotels in Dublin compared to 88 in 1995 and tourism has become a major industry in the Dublin region. The present inadequate supply of taxis in Dublin risks harming the capital's reputation in the eyes of international business people and other visitors and would also remain a source of extreme frustration for the city's residents. The continuance of this situation is insupportable.
We are confident this important Government initiative will benefit the public and the Dublin taxi industry alike. The Dublin taxi market, like many other sectors of Dublin's economy, is capable of significant and sustained growth. As such, it can well support a larger service-driven industry to the mutual benefit of all concerned.
The Government has acted decisively to ensure a high quality taxi service for customers in Dublin and other urban taximeter areas. We hope our actions will receive the support of all Members of the House. The Government's initiative has elicited different responses from the taxi industry. On the one hand, thousands of expressions of interest in new taxi licences have been made to local authorities and some 900 completed application forms had been returned by yesterday to Dublin Corporation alone. The corporation has made in the region of 750 conditional offers of new licences. On the other hand, taxi groups representing existing service providers have withdrawn their services in Dublin and some other areas. Some groups have mounted legal challenges to the new regulations.
The Government is firmly committed to implementing the proposed new taxi regime which enjoys wide political and public support. Subject to this, we are anxious to progress a number of mitigating measures for the benefit of existing taxi licence holders and to consult further with the taxi groups in formulating detailed provisions in this regard. We are also ready to work with taxi service providers and others to develop further quality improvements for taxi services in the medium term.
During discussions already conducted by the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, both sides accepted the importance of continuing the process of dialogue on issues relating to the new taxi regime. When the current High Court cases are determined – we hope this will happen very shortly – we hope the pace and progress of discussions with taxi interests can be intensified and will produce good results.
The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, has been very effective in the Department of Education and Science, dealing with adult education, youth affairs and school transport. I would now like to outline some of his achievements in the field of adult education.
For a long time, as a necessary response to our demographic profile, investment in education in Ireland has been concentrated on initial education for young people, resulting in the adult education sector being classified by many as the Cinderella of education. At a time when lifelong learning is increasingly moving centre stage throughout the OECD in terms of social inclusion and employment policies, the adult education sector is the last area of mass education in Ireland which remains to be developed. The first important step in developing this area was taken by the Government with the appointment in 1997 of Deputy O'Dea as the first ever Minister of State with responsibility for adult education.
Shortly afterwards, the OECD international adult literacy survey results for Ireland were published, showing that about 25% of the Irish adult population were found to score at the lowest literacy level. This percentage was the highest in any of the countries surveyed at the time, except for Poland. Only about 10% in the Netherlands scored at level one, while in Sweden the figure was 6%.
The survey showed early school leavers, older adults and unemployed people as being most at risk of literacy difficulties, with participation in adult education and training being least likely for those with the poorest skills.
At that time the overall budget for adult literacy development in Ireland was £850,000, and 85% of provision was taught by volunteers, with a maximum provision of two hours tuition per week. The Minister of State took immediate steps to increase investment in this area on a phased basis. Provision in 2000 is £7.825 million, with a further £960,000 for programme development. He also took a number of important steps to ensure that the increase in funds would be used in a strategic way to increase access to literacy help for those in need, to promote improved public awareness and integrated links with other agencies and to improve the quality and relevance of the service.
As a result of the Minister of State's work and the extra funds he obtained, participation in the adult literacy service has increased from 5,000 to 13,000; awareness and outreach strategies have been strengthened; and referral networks have been developed and expanded, linking key actors such as FÁS, the local employment service, area partnerships, welfare and health interests, the Garda and probation services, schools, youth service and community groups. These networks are designed to promote awareness of the service and to provide a structured mechanism for the identification of area needs and the referral of those in need to the service. Flexibility of timing of provision, a continuum from one-to-one voluntary tuition to tuition in small groups, with the option of national certification, and innovation is also being encouraged. Family literacy programmes and special tuition for migrant groups, Travellers and those with special needs are also being expanded. FÁS and community employment joint literacy programmes are being expanded to all regions, with 30 now in operation. A national referral directory on adult literacy services has been published and disseminated.
Funds have been provided by the Minister for a television programme, "Read Write Now", which is broadcast by RTE 1. It consists of 12 half hour programmes which are shown at 11 p.m. on Tuesday night and repeated the next day. This is supplemented by a national freephone helpline manned by trained literacy tutors, organised by the National Adult Literacy Agency, and learner workbooks and resource packs. It is planned to develop videos of the series for distribution free to adult literacy schemes, public libraries and video outlets. The programme has been watched by an average of 172,000 adults each week since its inception. The Minister, Deputy O'Dea, can point to the highest ratings ever for an educational programme in Ireland. Use of television allows those with literacy difficulties to learn in the privacy of their own homes as well as promoting awareness of where to go for help and encour aging them to join a more formal programme. It has also been agreed in principle with RTE and NALA to develop a follow-on radio series with more basic and intensive levels of tuition for broadcast on national radio in the new year.
These developments, increasing access to literacy help for adults, have been accompanied by a major drive to enhance the quality and professionalism of the adult literacy service through nationally accredited staff development programmes and the development of a quality framework in line with best practice internationally.
The Minister, Deputy O'Dea, established an interdepartmental group on literacy for the unemployed to develop an integrated response to addressing the literacy needs of unemployed people and "to jointly develop measures in consultation with the appropriate statutory agencies and expert groups, and report back to the Cabinet committee, including estimated costs and available funding". The group includes representatives of the Departments of Education and Science, Social, Community and Family Affairs and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, FÁS, vocational education committees, the National Adult Literacy Agency and the local employment service. The group has submitted an interim report to Government recommending targets and timescales for an expansion of funding for the adult literacy service; an increase in provision of foundation and level one courses; and expansion of FÁS community employment literacy programmes and the removal of certain financial barriers.
The Minister, Deputy O'Dea, is pursuing all these issues in the context of the White Paper on Adult Education and the national development plan. The work of the group is continuing. The national development plan provides for an investment of £73.6 million in the coming years in this critical area and will be supplemented by a £1 billion investment under the back to education initiative, providing for an expansion of part-time Youthreach, PLC and VTOS options. This will be important in providing flexible progression pathways, particularly at foundation level, to enable adults to move from the literacy service into modular part-time programmes. The budget is expected to increase by a further £1.772 million in 2001.
Under the national development plan, in addition to the adult literacy investment already mentioned, £35 million over the period 2000-06 has also been provided for the development of adult educational guidance and programme support measures. The need is recognised not only to expand adult education programmes, but also to develop support services so that adults can gain optimum benefit from a return to education which is relevant to their needs. The funds are to provide a service covering a spectrum of needs ranging from initial outreach, particularly in the fields of literacy and basic education, vocational information, guidance and orientation, advice in dealing with learning fears as well as counselling and access to expert services where necessary. To progress matters a multi-agency working group was established in association with the National Centre for Guidance in Education and other relevant interests to oversee the development. Phase 1 has begun with 11 projects in 2000. There will be expansion to further areas in 2001. Therefore, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, has been particularly busy and active in this area.
The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, has been very active also on the policy front. In 1998 the first ever Green Paper, "Adult Education in an Era of Lifelong Learning", was published. This was followed by a comprehensive consultation process which gave rise to a level of debate and discussion that was unprecedented in the sphere of adult education. Various organisations convened seminars and focus groups, the Department of Education and Science held six regional seminars, there was a national invitation process for written submissions and over 70 individual meetings were held by the Department with national level education and training organisations, Departments, research, manpower, industrial development agencies and community and voluntary sector organisations. The consultation process culminated with a national forum on adult education in Dublin Castle in September 1999. The Minister of State took part in many of these consultation processes.
Feedback from the process informed the development of the White Paper, "Adult Education: Learning for Life", which was launched by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, in August 2000. This is the first ever White Paper on adult education in the history of the State and it set out a comprehensive strategy for the future development of the sector as a major element in promoting a continuum of lifelong learning.
The paper sets out the central role of adult education in promoting competitiveness and employment, in addressing poverty and disadvantage, in promoting personal development and enrichment, in supporting participative democracy and in strengthening individuals, families and communities. It provides an over-arching framework for the development of an integrated education and training system, bringing together the policies of a range of Departments and agencies in the context of a co-ordinated approach. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, has played a vital role in promoting inter-departmental co-operation in this area, where the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities is an integral and central element of education, training, employment, welfare, health, information society, justice, equality, local urban and rural development, and arts and cultural policies. The White Paper sets out a major strategy for growth in this area, enhancing access from literacy to advanced levels, building support services such as guidance and child care, supporting "adult friendly" models of delivery flexibility and responsiveness, promoting quality and innovation, addressing the needs of mar ginalised groups, supporting the expansion of community education models and partnerships with the statutory sector, and setting out structures for a co-ordinated – inter-agency approach at national and local levels.
An Action Programme for the Millennium, the Programme for Competitiveness and Work and the yearly national employment action plans all contain commitments to the promotion of lifelong learning, and the issue moved centre stage in the national development plan and in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. In the knowledge society, a well developed education and training system and a workforce which is adaptable and willing to learn new skills are both necessities. Research throughout the world has demonstrated the central influence of education on life chances, and in recent years, there has been a growing realisation that education must be lifelong if we are to have an inclusive and democratic society which can adapt successfully to meet new challenges. In addition, we know that increasing children's participation and benefit from education is heavily dependent on also enabling parents to support their children's learning. Globalisation, increased competition, new technology, demographic change, a continuing need to upskill the workforce, more leisure time and an emphasis on social and cultural development are all converging factors which make it an imperative to invest systematically in adult education. This Government recognised the need for development in this area in appointing Deputy O'Dea as the first Minister of State for adult education.
The value of that decision has been proved in the achievements of the sector since then – in adult literacy incorporating multi-media approaches, developing guidance and child care promoting equality, flexibility, access and quality supports, in securing major investment under the national development plan, and in the development of a co-ordinated integrated strategic policy framework which sets out a blueprint to underpin the future development of the sector. He has secured a commitment to partnership of all – Government, education and training providers, business, trade unions, communities, voluntary organisations, individuals – to meet the challenge of bringing the concept of lifelong learning to reality.
In short, the achievements of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, in this area have been outstanding in so short a time. These developments did not occur overnight. They required much planning, dialogue and interaction with key stakeholders, dedication and insight, and a willingness to work in partnership towards achieving a professional policy, a systematic approach and a high quality service. The Minister of State has been to the forefront in leading these developments.