Furious Taxi Drivers Plan Six-Day Protest Campaign in Dublin Amid Row With Uber

Dublin is bracing for six consecutive days of severe traffic disruption next week as taxi drivers plan a series of go-slow protests during rush hours. The demonstrations, scheduled from Monday to Saturday, come during one of the busiest retail weeks of the year and signal a major escalation in the ongoing dispute between Taxi Drivers Ireland and global transport company Uber.

Taxi Drivers Ireland has accused the Government of ignoring the concerns of the regulated taxi industry following the introduction of fixed fare options for Uber customers—an initiative drivers claim has resulted in financial losses. The organisation has already staged three rush-hour protests in recent weeks, but now says it has been “pushed to breaking point.”

In a strongly worded statement, the group said:
“After four weeks of warnings, protests, and direct appeals, the Government has failed to take any meaningful action to address the crisis engulfing the regulated taxi industry. We have been ignored. We have been dismissed. We have been pushed to breaking point.”

National spokesperson Derek O’Keeffe said the Government had “chosen silence instead of responsibility,” adding that drivers had followed all legal channels and protested peacefully but had not been heard. He confirmed the escalation has full backing from branches in Cork and Galway.
“This is not a gesture. This is the full strength of the Irish taxi industry being brought to bear,” he said. “We warned this would happen. Now it is happening.”

The protest schedule will see go-slow convoys depart from Mountjoy Square and travel toward Merrion Square at 7 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, where vehicles will remain parked until 5 p.m. The action is expected to severely disrupt morning and evening travel for thousands of commuters and Christmas shoppers.

On Tuesday and Thursday, the demonstrations will shift to Dublin Airport, targeting holding areas and access roads outside the airport grounds. A further protest is planned at the airport from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, followed by rolling convoys moving into the city centre from both sides of the River Liffey.

O’Keeffe stressed that drivers regretted the inconvenience but insisted responsibility lay with the Government.
“We do not want protests. We want to work. But we will not quietly accept the destruction of our livelihoods,” he said. “If the Government thinks this will blow over, they are badly mistaken. This is the beginning of a national reckoning for an industry that refuses to disappear quietly.”

Taxi Drivers Ireland maintains that unless the Government intervenes, disruption will continue and intensify.