Background
The National Transport Authority (NTA) is responsible for the regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry in Ireland.
As part of NTA’s regulatory function, and in accordance with Section 20 of the Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 & 2016 (the Act), NTA may make regulations in respect of the type and age of a vehicle that may be used as an SPSV. Regulation 31 of the Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015, as amended, specifies the “maximum permissible age” limits for operating a vehicle as a standard taxi, colloquially termed the 10-year rule. Regulation 31 currently includes:
“(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) the maximum permissible age of a—
(a) Standard taxi, standard hackney or local area hackney is ten years from the date of first registration of the vehicle,….”
The “maximum permissible age” means the age beyond which a vehicle may no longer be licensed as a taxi. The age of the vehicle is calculated from the exact date on which it was first registered (day, month and year) in any country/jurisdiction.
Draft Regulations
The Programme for Government 2025 includes the objective to: “Extend the ten-year vehicle limit for taxis registered in 2015, offering another year of service.” NTA proposes to amend Regulation 31 to give effect to this objective and draft Regulations have been developed accordingly. The material amendment to Regulation 31 in the draft Regulations that accompany this Information Note is the addition of a new paragraph 8A:
“(8A) Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (1), where a standard taxi would, by virtue of the time period specified in the said paragraph (1), reach or have reached its maximum permissible age of ten years between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 (whether before or after the coming into effect of the Taxi Regulation (Taxi Maximum Permissible Age) Regulations 2025), it shall be deemed not to have reached its maximum permissible age until a period of 12 months after the date upon which it would otherwise have reached its maximum permissible age of ten years by virtue of the applicable time period specified in paragraph (1) without the application of this paragraph (8A).”
Consultation Process
In accordance with the Act, draft Regulations aimed at extending the ten-year vehicle limit for taxis registered in 2015 by a year are published alongside this Information Note for consultation. NTA now invites members of the public, SPSV licence holders, and all interested parties to submit their responses to this consultation. NTA will consider all representations prior to a decision on the proposed Regulations being made.
The consultation remains open until end of day Wednesday March 12th, 2025.