The problem with Dublin taxis is that there are nothing like enough of them. every time the Irish government wants to introduce new taxi licenses to increase the supply, existing taxi drivers take to the streets in protest. Why? The mind boggles. In the mean time, a common sight in Dublin is the extra-long taxi queue, because with the way things are at the moment, and with Dublin's public transport shutting down pathetically early, demand for taxis far outweighs demand. So if you want an 'official' taxi, complete with roof sign, be prepared to wait in line for anything up to 3 hours on a weekend night.

Alternatively, you could try an unofficial taxi, or 'hackney', which 'proper' taxi drivers would have us believe are unreliable, untrustworthy, and unhelpful. On the contrary, my experience with hackneys has been that they are generally cheaper than taxis, that their prices are negotiable, and that the drivers are as likely to be friendly and knowledgeable as any taxi driver is likely to be. And what's more, there's plenty of them.

At the moment, I would recommend a hackney over a taxi any day. It would be preferable to hire a taxi with a distinguishable license and number in case of complaint, but the simple fact is that the service is just not good enough. Until the Dublin taxi drivers wake up to the major deficiencies in their service, the hackneys will continue to be the only option.