What can be done to stop violent assaults on Dublin taxi drivers?
The recession has reduced the number of people queuing for taxis late at night in Dublin. What has not reduced is the number of attacks on taxi drivers, they have increased.
John Ussher of the Irish Taximen's Federation says that the number of incidents is up sixty per cent on this time last year,
Attacks happen twice or three times a week.
Barney Monahan no longer works at night following an assault by two men who got into his taxi with a woman.
Bashed over the head and dragged out of the car, kicked on the ground and they robbed every pennyI had.
Taxi driver Gerry Daly was also assaulted before being forced into his car’s boot by thieves who robbed his earnings,
They took everything I had.
A London style taxi cab may hold the solution to this problem, which has a partition separating the driver and passengers. Due to a high excise rate, these cars are proving too costly to purchase for most taximen. At present the Irish Taximen’s Federation is in talks with the government around the issue.
Members of the public who spoke to RTÉ News at a taxi rank are mainly supportive of the taxi drivers,
Taximen have a very difficult job late at night.
Anybody that’s collecting money at the moment is getting mugged.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 12 July 1983. The reporter is Alasdair Jackson.
