The High Court has proposed quashing a restriction that limited a small public service vehicle (SPSV) licence to work for one named limousine and wedding-car business, finding the condition irrational and unreasonable.
In a judgment delivered on 20 July 2023, Mr Justice Charles Meenan said the applicant had successfully appealed to the District Court after the Garda Commissioner refused his licence application because of his criminal convictions for serious drug offences. Under the Taxi Regulation Act 2013, the District Court’s decision required the licensing authority to grant the licence.
The licence was issued in December 2020, but only for the purpose of Irish Diamond Limousines and Vintage Wedding Car Hire. The applicant challenged that restriction through judicial review. The Commissioner argued the authority could attach conditions under the Act and that the judicial review application was out of time.
The High Court rejected the time objection. It held that time began to run from 4 February 2021, when the applicant returned to the District Court after receiving the restricted licence. The judge also said that, if that calculation were wrong, an extension of time was justified because the District Court had given the applicant “liberty to apply”.
The judgment said licensing conditions must relate to the purpose of the legislation and be rational, reasonable and proportionate. The court recognised the need to protect the public, while also considering an applicant’s constitutional right to earn a livelihood. It found that restricting the licence to a business that was not a legal entity could leave the licence invalid if the business changed its name or legal status during the licence’s five-year term, potentially ending the applicant’s employment and limiting other work.
The judge observed that supervision or direction by an appropriate person might have been a permissible condition in light of the applicant’s record. He did not, however, impose such a condition.
The court proposed an order quashing the restriction and remitting the matter to the Commissioner to grant the applicant an SPSV licence. These were proposed orders, not final orders: the parties were invited to make submissions on the proposed orders and costs by 15 September 2023, with the matter listed for 5 October 2023 for final orders. The judge’s provisional view was that the applicant should receive the costs of the judicial review, including reserved costs, with costs to be adjudicated if the parties could not agree.