Fixed Payment Offences
Authorised Persons (NTA Compliance Officers or any member of An Garda Síochána) may issue Fixed Payment Notices, commonly known as on the spot fines or penalties, for a range of offences which have been declared at law to be Fixed Payment Offences. These notices may be issued as a result of a roadside check by a Compliance Officer or a member of An Garda Síochána or they may be issued following a complaint from a customer. The fines payable are up to €250 per incidence. The Fixed Payment Notice specifies the amount which must be paid in order to avoid prosecution, as shown in the table below. Within the first 28 days of the date on the notice, the amount specified in the notice can be paid, or within the next 28 days of the date on the notice, the amount specified in the notice plus an additional 50 per cent can be paid.
If the notice is not paid within the 56-day period, from the date on the notice, a prosecution will be instituted by NTA for the original offence . A court attendance is mandatory and a criminal conviction as well as a court fine and legal costs may accrue. A criminal conviction for a SPSV offence can have serious implications for a career in the SPSV industry and travel/visa applications amongst other matters.
| Offence | Fine |
| Failure to display the required in-vehicle information. | €100 |
| Standing or parking at appointed stand while vehicle is not available for hire. | €80 |
| Standing for hire in a taxi otherwise than at an appointed stand. | €100 |
| Refusal to carry assistance dog or guide dog in a small public service vehicle. | €250 |
| Failure to print and offer a taximeter receipt in the prescribed form to a passenger upon completion of a journey in a taxi. | €100 |
| Failure to make available a receipt in the prescribed form to a passenger upon completion of a journey in a hackney or limousine. | €100 |
| Standing or plying for hire in an area without a licence to stand or ply for hire in that area. | €200 |
| Failure to comply with taxi roof sign requirements. | €100 |
| Displaying on a hackney or limousine a sign or advertisement other than one approved in writing by the National Transport Authority. | €80 |
| Failure to notify details of the small public service vehicle being operated. | €200 |
| Operating taximeter while taxi is standing for hire or plying for hire. | €150 |
| Failure to operate taximeter while taxi is on hire. | €150 |
| Failure to comply with the requirements in relation to the fitting and operation of a taximeter. | €150 |
| Applying a booking fee in respect of a taxi which is engaged while applying for hire or standing for hire or without having been booked in advance by the consumer. | €100 |
| Standing with a taxi on part of the public road adjoining or in proximity of an appointed stand when the appointed stand is full. | €80 |
| Failure to display prominently the required valid SPSV Driver Display Card so as to be clearly visible | €200 |
| Failure to comply with the vehicle standards and requirements applicable to the relevant licence category | €100 |
| Failure of the driver of a hackney or limousine to carry the required booking record in respect of a hire | €80 |
| Failure to carry a functioning cashless payment device | €200 |
| Failure to accept cashless payment | €200 |
| Removal, attempted removal, damage or interference with a small public service vehicle tamper-proof disc. | €150 |
| Failure to display valid tamper-proof discs. | €150 |
| Unreasonable refusal by the driver to carry a passenger. | €150 |
| Failure to comply with the requirements in relation to the calibration of taximeters | €250 |
| Failure to have prescribed signage affixed to the front doors of taxi or wheelchair accessible taxi. | €250 |
| Refusal by the driver to carry a passenger in a wheelchair. | €250 |
Prosecutions
Some offences are not suitable to be declared as Fixed Payment Offences e.g. operating a SPSV without a valid licence, and therefore NTA may elect to prosecute the offender directly in court. Generally, it is the more serious offences which are prosecuted by NTA however, where a Fixed Payment Notice has not been paid, this too will be prosecuted. An Garda Síochána is also empowered to prosecute offences under SPSV legislation . A decision to prosecute an offender is taken when the offence warrants such action, and/or where it is in the interests of the SPSV industry and the public at large to do so. Prosecutions take place at the District Court within the area where the original offence was committed. The evidence will be heard from both sides and a judge will decide whether the case has been proven and whether to convict the offender. Following a conviction for the offence, the fine may be up to €5,000. A conviction may be taken into consideration by NTA and An Garda Síochána when deciding whether a licence holder is suitable to retain their licence. (See “Taxi Regulation- Revocations and suspensions “)