Taxi drivers disrupt Dublin Airport in protest at the government decision to deregulate their industry.
Minister of State Bobby Molloy announcing that he intended to deregulate the taxi industry, sent taxi drivers on the offensive. Shortly after 7.00 am, taxi drivers had blocked every approach route to Dublin Airport in protest. Taxi drivers from all over the country make their way to Dublin Airport to join the protest.
The taxi drivers believe the minister's decision will flood the market with taxis and put people out of business. Many drivers who have spent large sums of money to buy taxi plates will suffer financially. Some of those affected dump their plates on the ground. A Limerick taxi driver explains,
That's what Minister Molloy has reduced our business to, rubbish, we are wiped in Limerick, we have no business, we invested heavily, we've wives and children, that's our business there on the ground.
A passenger wheeling his luggage to the airport terminal declares the action taken by the taxi drivers is completely unreasonable.
If they thought about it ,the deregulation is the best thing that ever happened to them.
However, a woman supports the drivers,
Fair play to them.
An American man is not sure of what is at stake, but he is feeling inconvenienced so,
I guess they got their point across.
General Secretary of National Taxi Drivers Union Tommy Gorman places the blame for the Dublin Airport blockade on the minister,
His announcement last night without consultation with us has brought this about.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 November 2000. The reporter is Teresa Mannion.
