500 million compo settlement looms
national |
miscellaneous |
news report 
Sunday October 08, 2006 17:27
by John Mcdermott - removefiannafail
Bertie may have more problems.!
The High Court will be the battleground for the coming showdown between disgruntled taxi drivers and Fianna Fail.It will be a long and costly battle.It may cost 500 million euros or more..
The illustrious legal firm of McMahon O'brien Downes,36 Pembroke Road Ballsbridge represented many claimants in the "deaf soldiers" class action against the state,almost a decade ago,which resulted in the taxpayers of the nation presenting 300 million Euros to a few thousand members of the defence forces.This have are in the final stages of preparing a similiar class action/law suit against the Minister for the Environment and Local
Government,Ireland, The Attorney General,and Dublin City Council on behalf of 5000 taxi drivers who lost substantial assets when the taxi industry was re-regulated by the government in November 2000.
They have spent 6 years studying the debacle and assembled an impressive catalogue of documentation to argue in the High Court that the manner in which the industry was regulated for many years was "unsatisfactory" and contrary to the principles of competition law.They will argue that had the current regulatory regime-which is notanti-competitive- been in existance at all stages,then individuals who were members of the industry prior to "re-regulation" would most likely not have suffered any financial loss ,after the new regulatory regime was introduced in November 2000.
This will be an interesting case for Michael McDowell to handle,as it was his partner Mary hearney who forced through the necessary re-regulation,despite the fact that Fianna Fail totally opposed the move,due to the cosy group voting "arrangement" which had been brokered on Bertie Ahern's behalf,by his "special envoy " to the Irish Taxi Federation
the one and only, Ivor Callely ! The appearance of these notable characters alongside John Usher boss of the taxi Federation.in the witness box during the high court proceedings may well elicit sufficient information on the whole saga to expedite speedy compensation payment to all those who had anticipated.on retirement, a "pension" from renting their licences in much the same way as publicans and farmers currently rent drinking and milking licences.!
If the test cases coming before the courts in the new year are successful, the payout-based on the trading price of a Dublin taxi licence before re-regulation- will certainly exceed400 million Euros and could come in nearer to 600 million countrywide the bloodthirsty legal eagles will pocket about 20% of this amount in fees and outgoings. Not bad for a sequel to the box office record breaking "Deaf Soldiers" blockbuster.Then again as Fianna Fail are so practiced at compensating,hepatitis victims, the deaf ,the institutionally abused, the ederly (both living and the dead) that the next payout will hardly cause as much as a ripple in Leinster House or amongst the long suffering taxpayers of Ireland .
http://www.soldiersofdestiny.org/compensatingtaximen.htm
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2Can we have a bit of accuracy here please? Neither the PDs, nor any other government had any part the breaking the corrupt old taxi licensing scheme. What happened was the Bobby Molloy proposed a change that would tie in the corrupt scheme for years.
He offered a free second taxi licence to every taxi-plate owner – and none to their drivers, or to hackney drivers. The hackney drivers challenged the legislation in the courts and won.
The court held that regulation for the good of the customer was legal and constitutional, but regulation to prevent new entrants to a market just to enrich the existing operators was unconstitutional.
Every person is entitled to carry on whatever lawful business they are qualified for, they said. So if taxi-plate owners were getting a new taxi plate, taxi and hackney drivers were entitled to do so too, and so was everyone else.
The disgruntled taxi-plate owners are taking an interesting tack – they can’t appeal the court ruling, so they are arguing, it seems, that it was the situation before that caused the damage.
I wonder how the court will view evidence from the tribunals that politicians were being bribed by Frank Dunlop to support the taxi-plate owners and vote in against any change in regulation.
Hopefully John Usher boss of the Irish Taxi Federation ,will still be availible to give a full and frank disclosure of his dealings with disgraced T.D. Ivor Callely,as this I think,rather than Frank Dunlop, is the kernel of the whole issue.
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