Mum and sick girl (3) attacked by taxi drivers (Herald)

Monday March 23 2009

A YOUNG mum and her asthmatic child were left terrified after being abused by striking taxi drivers in the city centre. Claire Kerrigan (30) and her three-year-old daughter Nicole were left shaken after picketing drivers ordered her to get out of the taxi she was travelling in to take her daughter to a doctor.

The incident occurred at approximately 11am at Merrion Square in the city centre last Friday as hundreds of taxi drivers went on strike.Claire hailed a taxi from Fenian Street, close to where she lives, to bring herself and Nicole to the doctor in St James's Street. Nicole was due to get new inhalers for her chronic asthma, a prescription which her mother collects monthly.

"I had to get a taxi, Nicole's asthma is very bad and we couldn't walk to St James's Street," said Claire. Surrounded "All the taxis were flying by me and none were stopping. Eventually, one did stop. It was a black driver and he was lovely. "He told me that he couldn't afford to go on strike as he had a family to provide for," she told the Herald.

"Along the way, taxis were making their way to Leinster House for a demonstration. They just kept beeping at us non-stop," Claire said. When the taxi came to Merrion Square, their cab was confronted by a number of drivers. "We came to a traffic light and we were surrounded by 10 taxis. "They approached the car and started banging on the windows. They started shouting at the driver, 'you black b******' and 'you're taking our f****** jobs'," Claire claimed. "I couldn't believe it and then they turned on me and said 'as for you, you're supporting the n****** as well'.

"They kept banging on the windows and were shouting at me to get out of the car. I rolled down the window then and told them my daughter had bad asthma and I was trying to get her to a doctor. But still, they kept telling me to get out of the car. "I told them I wasn't getting out of the car and that I was going to stay there. "We managed to drive away after 10 minutes but it was a long 10 minutes. "My daughter was left petrified by the whole thing and was very upset by it.

"As for the driver, he just kept telling me how sorry he was. He told me he had only got his licence two weeks beforehand and was trying his best to make a living. I think he was quite upset by the whole thing too. Petrified "When we got to to the doctor's, he didn't charge me for the fare and again apologised. But I told him it wasn't his fault," Claire said "Nicole was petrified by the whole thing. She was shaking."

The young mum is now planning to lodge a complaint with the Taxi Regulator. Siptu spokesperson Gerry Brennan told the Herald he couldn't condone such actions. Last Friday morning, members of Siptu's taxi branch staged a four-hour protest at Dublin Airport. Elsewhere, drivers attached to the non-union lobby group Taxi Drivers For Change travelled in convoy from Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and Airside Retail Park in Swords to the city centre from 8am.

The protests were over what the drivers believe to be an over-supply of taxis since the deregulation of the industry.

hnews@herald.ie