Fianna Fáil asks has Education Minister done her homework on Uber

Published on: 10 January 2016


Fianna Fáil Press Office
Cllr Jack Chambers
Dublin West

10 January 2016

Fianna Fáil asks has Education Minister done her homework on Uber

Fianna Fáil Dublin West General Election candidate Cllr Jack Chambers has urged Minister Jan O’Sullivan to ask taxi app company Uber hard questions on tax and ridesharing.

Ahead of her official launch of Uber’s call centre in Limerick tomorrow Monday January 11, Dáil Cllr Chambers has asked Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan whether she has done her homework on the taxi app company which is under fire for some operating practices in other markets globally.

Cllr Chambers has challenged Minister O’Sullivan on why Uber doesn’t pay VAT in Ireland. He also called on Minister O’Sullivan to press Uber about mooted plans to introduce ride-sharing which is illegal here under taxi regulations.

Uber faces legal actions in other countries, mainly in Europe, where it has flouted the law in attempting to introduce a ride-sharing service called UberPop which destroys jobs in the regulated taxi industry.

“Uber is registered as a business in the Netherlands and does not pay VAT in Ireland. The Irish taxi industry is worth a billion euro a year and Uber has a share of that. Millions are being lost to the Irish Exchequer as a consequence of Uber’s approach to rendering its services out of Holland. Now we have the Minister for Education endorsing the company.  This is the same Minister for Education who has had to tell schools and parents in my constituency of Dublin West that she didn’t have the resources for special needs and other crises in our education system.”

“Many Irish small and medium sized companies and some large ones who give lots of employment struggle to pay their VAT but they do in Ireland. Out of respect for these types of businesses, the Minister should consider declining the Uber invite.”
“While jobs are always welcome, one would expect Minister O’Sullivan to have carried out all checks before she agreed to perform an official opening. I call on Minister O Sullivan to indicate the checks she has made and for the Tanaiste Minister Burton to make a full public statement on them.

“Their party colleague, the Minister for Labour Affairs Jed Nash, is examining business practices. Yet, here is his more senior colleague endorsing Uber and its policies. This Government has overseen tax inversion by several multinationals based here. We deserve clarity on where it stands on the ethical and financial practices of all businesses. Otherwise, there is a strong sense of double standards,’ said Cllr Chambers.

-ENDS-

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