S.I. No. 665/2020 - Small Public Service Vehicle (Emergency Measure Covid-19) (Fees) Regulations 2020

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Small Public Service Vehicle (Emergency Measure Covid-19) (Fees) Regulations 2020.

2. Regulation 6 shall come into operation on the 1

st

day of January 2021 and shall cease to have effect on the 31

st

day of December 2021.

3. Regulation 7 shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 28

th

day of March 2020 and shall cease to have effect on the 12

th

day of June 2021.

4. Regulation 8 shall come into operation on the 13

th

day of June 2021 and shall cease to have effect on the 31

st

day of December 2021.

5. In these Regulations, “Covid-19” means a disease caused by infection with the virus SARS-CoV-2 and specified as an infectious disease in accordance with Regulation 6 of, and the Schedule to, the Infectious Diseases Regulations 1981 (

S.I. No. 390 of 1981

) or any variant of the disease so specified as an infectious disease in those Regulations.

6. The Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 (

S.I. No. 33 of 2015

) are amended –

(

a

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 2 (a) “€0” for “€150”;

(

b

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 2 (b) “€0” for “€75”;

(

c

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 3 (a) “€0” for “€75”;

(

d

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 3 (b) “€0” for “€37.50”;

7. The Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 (

S.I. No. 33 of 2015

) are amended -

(

a

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 2 (c) “€0 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence” for “€500 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence provided that—

(i) where the licence is replaced not more than 10 days after the date of expiry of the licence, the Authority shall refund €250 to the applicant, and

(ii) where the licence is replaced more than 10 days but not more than 30 days after the date of expiry of the licence, the Authority shall refund €150 to the applicant”

(

b

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 3 (c) “€0 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence” for “€250 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence provided that —where the licence is replaced not more than 10 days after the date of expiry of the licence, the Authority shall refund €100 to the applicant”.

8. The Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 (

S.I. No. 33 of 2015

) are amended –

(

a

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 2 (c) “€150 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence” for “€500 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence provided that—

(i) where the licence is replaced not more than 10 days after the date of expiry of the licence, the Authority shall refund €250 to the applicant, and

(ii) where the licence is replaced more than 10 days but not more than 30 days after the date of expiry of the licence, the Authority shall refund €150 to the applicant”

(

b

) by substituting at Schedule 1, paragraph 3 (c) “€75 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence” for “€250 in respect of replacement licences granted after the expiry date of the prior licence provided that —where the licence is replaced not more than 10 days after the date of expiry of the licence, the Authority shall refund €100 to the applicant”,

GIVEN under the Seal of the National Transport Authority

18 December 2020

FRED BARRY

Chairperson, National Transport Authority

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

)

The purpose of the Small Public Service Vehicle (Emergency Measure Covid-19) (Fees) Regulations 2020 is to temporarily amend Schedule 1 of the Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 (

SI. No. 33 of 2015

), Fees. These amendments are made as exceptional provisions and emergency measures resultant from the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that public transport, specifically including small public service vehicles, is deemed by Government to be an essential service. These amendments are time bound, expiring on 31

st

December 2021. All fees will revert to Schedule 1 of the Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 (

SI. No. 33 of 2015

), Fees on 1

st

January 2022.

For the period 1

st

January 2021 to 31

st

December 2021, these Regulations waive the fees payable in respect of the renewal of a small public service vehicle licence completed prior to the expiry date of the prior licence.

For the period 28

th

March 2020 to 12

th

June 2021, these Regulations waive the late renewal fees in respect of replacement licences granted within 12 months of the expiry date of the prior licence.

For the period 13

th

June 2021 to 31

st

December 2021, these Regulations replace the late renewal fees in respect of replacement licences granted within 12 months of the expiry date of the prior licence with late renewal fees of €150 and €75.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

5

th January,

2021.

The National Transport Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by

section 7

of the

Taxi Regulation Acts 2013

and 2016 (No. 37 of 2013 as amended), hereby makes the following Regulations to make exceptional provision, having regard to the Covid-19 pandemic, and in order to mitigate the adverse economic consequences likely to result from the spread of that disease and to mitigate its impact on essential public transport services