Mandatory CCTV in taxis is “not the answer” to rising concerns over women’s safety, a national taxi association has insisted.

It comes after Dublin taxi driver Raymond Shorten was sentenced to 30 years for the rape of two women and one young girl.

The sentence has highlighted the concerns some women have about their safety in taxis and there have since been calls for all Irish taxis to be fitted with CCTV cameras as a deterrent.

The Junior Transport Minister James Lawless has said he is in favour of the measure; however, on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, the National Private Hire and Taxi Association said most drivers are opposed to the idea.

“We don’t know what mandatory CCTV means at this moment in time,” spokesperson Jim Waldron said.  

“So, there’s a lot of unanswered questions. 

“There was a suggestion from years back that CCTV would be put into cars and it was rejected overwhelmingly by taxi drivers.

“We’re open to the conversation and I think it’s time that rather than hearing statements on the public airwaves, that we actually sit down in a room and discuss what we mean by mandatory CCTV.” 

A row of taxis. Image: David Jackson/Alamy

Mr Waldron said there are still far too many unanswered questions about how mandatory CCTV cameras would work. 

“Who stores the footage? Who gets access to it? Does the driver have to pay to get access to it?” he said. 

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions but it’s not the answer to the problems that we’ve had recently. 

“The answer to the problems that we’ve had recently is more stringent vetting and maybe more re-vetting of taxi drivers.” 

When asked whether Raymond Shorten might not have committed his crimes had CCTV cameras been installed in his vehicle, Mr Waldron said  “proper vetting” of taxi drivers would be a more effective solution. 

“He was already under investigation at the time for assaulting a child - why was he still driving a taxi?” he said. 

“He shouldn’t have been in the taxi.” 

Last week, Raymond Shorten was sentenced to 13 years for the rape of a young girl. 

He was then sentenced a few days later to a further 17 years for the rape of two women on separate occasions in 2022. 

The 50-year-old will serve his sentences consecutively, meaning he could spend up to 30 years behind bars.

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Main image: Taxi drivers in Dublin. Photo: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews.ie