Taxi Scam 180 non-EU nationals obtain licences despite having no legal status in

Mr.Frame

https://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/major-taxi-scam-uncovered-as-180-noneu-nationals-obtain-licences-despite-having-no-legal-status-in-ireland-37882999.html

Surely there is something seriously wrong with taxi regulations and the NTA have serious questions to answer.

There needs to be a major investigation into all non EU drivers who are driving taxis.

My understanding is that all taxi drivers must obtain Garda clearance but the Gards cannot do so for those from outside the EU.

If this is the case, how then can they get licences? The public need to be assured that drivers are legit, for their own safety.

roundymac

Quite likly organised by the Dept of Social welfare, they did gave them out before, it gets a load of them off the unemployment register.

cherryghost

NTA Clarification

Mr.Frame

Mr.Frame wrote: »

If this is the case, how then can they get licences? The public need to be assured that drivers are legit, for their own safety.

Because there's no dodgy Irish people

IE 222

roundymac wrote: »

Quite likly organised by the Dept of Social welfare, they did gave them out before, it gets a load of them off the unemployment register.

It's an actual fraudulent scam where false documentation is been produced and provided to obtain licenses. It supposedly includes illegal immigrants, ISIS supports and sex offenders driving taxis. So far 2 have been deported and more likely to follow.

The private hire industry needs a serious shake down imo including them rickshaws. The driving standards and attitudes of drivers the last number of years is deplorable.

strandroad

So to get a taxi license you produce "utility bills and wages slips" (which they all easily faked it seems). And people give out about ID cards. There need to be stronger forms of identification for any safety related process or for fraud prevention.

n97 mini

And the taxi lobby keep using the line that taxis are safer, because better vetting etc to block ride-sharing and UberX in particular.

Spook_ie

n97 mini wrote: »

And the taxi lobby keep using the line that taxis are safer, because better vetting etc to block ride-sharing and UberX in particular.

Oh come on, if the NTA can't keep the bollixs out what the hell do you think Uber are going to do, they make a bigger profit the more Ubers they have!

yosser hughes

Deleted User wrote: »

Because there's no dodgy Irish people

Whataboutery and not the issue.

L1011

strandroad wrote: »

So to get a taxi license you produce "utility bills and wages slips" (which they all easily faked it seems). And people give out about ID cards. There need to be stronger forms of identification for any safety related process or for fraud prevention.

I seem to remember stronger ID checks were proposed in the past. And there were vicious debates on here - including many existing drivers or defenders of same against them for whatever reason.

Stephen15

Look at most ranks in Dublin these days and play spot the Irish drivers. No surprise the low standard of the taxi industry mostly coming from non-national drivers these days in a disgrace. I don't think I've had one good expierence with forgein taxi drivers anytime I've been in a taxi with one they have been unprofessional.

Eric Cartman

Deleted User wrote: »

Because there's no dodgy Irish people

complete whataboutery, just because there are bad irish people do not mean this is not an issue.

This is only touching the surface, almost anybody in dublin who uses taxis regularly will get into a taxi where the photo on the licence card is definitely not the driver. There is already scams operating where multiple foreign nationals are sharing the same licence and NTA ID to get away with driving a taxi.

The taxi industry in Ireland needs facial recognition and the ability for gardai to operate roadside checks of such.

Ben D Bus

Stephen15 wrote: »

Look at most ranks in Dublin these days and play spot the Irish drivers. No surprise the low standard of the taxi industry mostly coming from non-national drivers these days in a disgrace. I don't think I've had one good expierence with forgein taxi drivers anytime I've been in a taxi with one they have been unprofessional.

Standards in the Irish taxi industry, regardless of nationality race or religion, have always been rock bottom. At least back as far as the 80s when I started using them. Total pot luck with drivers and vehicles.

Losty Dublin

cherryghost wrote: »

NTA Clarification

Some smoke and mirror stuff from the NTA here to try and absolve themselves of any responsibility here. While they are correct to say that the Carriage Officer is the one who does the background checks and adjudges driver to be suitable or otherwise, it is they who do all of the clerical work, run the testing for drivers, collect the fees, recommend drivers to the local Carriage Officer for prospective licences, issue fines to drivers, rescind licences, prosecute drivers on foot of complaints, cash the cheques, issues driver bulletins, pose for photos at press statements etc etc. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck....

https://www.nationaltransport.ie/taxi/driver-licensing/application/

magicbastarder

Stephen15 wrote: »

Look at most ranks in Dublin these days and play spot the Irish drivers. No surprise the low standard of the taxi industry mostly coming from non-national drivers these days in a disgrace. I don't think I've had one good expierence with forgein taxi drivers anytime I've been in a taxi with one they have been unprofessional.

the only taxi driver who ever explicitly told me that there was an open warrant out for his arrest was an irish driver. the only taxi driver i've ever had to give out to for hitting over 80km/h uphill on mobhi road was an irish driver.

to suggest that irish drivers = good, foreign drivers = bad is actually so bizarre it's funny.

IE 222

magicbastarder wrote: »

the only taxi driver who ever explicitly told me that there was an open warrant out for his arrest was an irish driver. the only taxi driver i've ever had to give out to for hitting over 80km/h uphill on mobhi road was an irish driver.

to suggest that irish drivers = good, foreign drivers = bad is actually so bizarre it's funny.

Although I agree Irish drivers are just as bad I do believe a big part of this issue is the race card been pulled when the question of non national drivers is raised and not necessarily by the drivers but by the PC brigade and vote seeking politicians.

This PC world we live in now leads to people refraining from challenging these types of issues even when its widely expected in the fear of been accused as a racist, sexist or whatever else we get thrown at us these days.

There has been many complaints, accusations, reports and questions raised over the years, which have been continuously shot down as scaremongering or been racist comments. This investigation is likely to show they were valid and legitimate concerns and the issues could and should of been listened to and acted on before now as it seems this has escalated to a unacceptable level.

GM228

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Some smoke and mirror stuff from the NTA here to try and absolve themselves of any responsibility here. While they are correct to say that the Carriage Officer is the one who does the background checks and adjudges driver to be suitable or otherwise, it is they who do all of the clerical work, run the testing for drivers, collect the fees, recommend drivers to the local Carriage Officer for prospective licences, issue fines to drivers, rescind licences, prosecute drivers on foot of complaints, cash the cheques, issues driver bulletins, pose for photos at press statements etc etc. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck....

https://www.nationaltransport.ie/taxi/driver-licensing/application/

But the fraudulent documentation issue is in relation to the issue of the SPSV, i.e the suitability checks which are conducted by AGS, not the NTA.

Any clerical work at that stage is done in the Carriage Office by both AGS and civilian staff attached to AGS.

They are correct to absolve themselves of any responsibility here, it is not the job of the NTA to second guess the work of AGS.

Losty Dublin

GM228 wrote: »

But the fraudulent documentation issue is in relation to the issue of the SPSV, i.e the suitability checks which are conducted by AGS, not the NTA.

Any clerical work at that stage is done in the Carriage Office by both AGS and civilian staff attached to AGS.

They are correct to absolve themselves of any responsibility here, it is not the job of the NTA to second guess the work of AGS.

The Carriage Office staff stopped doing most of the leg work on taxi licences some years ago, doing just the criminal background checks of applicants and saying yay or nay to them; the green light if you will. Everything else is handled by the NTA, or formerly the Taxi Regulator Office, so they can't abdicate themselves entirely out of this one.

GM228

Losty Dublin wrote: »

The Carriage Office staff stopped doing most of the leg work on taxi licences some years ago, doing just the criminal background checks of applicants and saying yay or nay to them; the green light if you will. Everything else is handled by the NTA, or formerly the Taxi Regulator Office, so they can't abdicate themselves entirely out of this one.

But the issue here it seems is one where the applicants were using fraudulent documentation to show they had legal status in the country, that is specifically an issue for AGS (and their GNIB division to follow up on), not the NTA.

The NTA does not have the statutory authority to do such checks or the authority to question their status as provided for by AGS, those checks are conducted solely by AGS/GNIB and then used to qualify their application to the Carriage Office, as such I don't see how anybody can apportion blame to the NTA with an issue which is completely procedurally and legally out of their control.