Mr. Declan Hughes:

I would make a couple of points on the PUP which was introduced at very short order last year and has been very successful in helping to support incomes. We have seen very good transitions from the PUP back to employment. We know that 60% of those who have come off the PUP have returned to their previous employer. Some 12% have stayed in the same sector and 20% have gone on to other areas.

The point worth bearing in mind, particularly for taxi drivers and others, is that many of those, and there are 74,000 who are still on the PUP and may not have come off in recent weeks, can continue to earn up to €960 over an eight-week period. Many of those in the sectors mentioned by the Deputy may not have come off the PUP and they can continue to earn. We may well see that the numbers may not decrease as quickly as in the previous period.

For anyone operating a small business, the measures we have for self-employed, such as Microfinance Ireland, MFI, loans and short-term liquidity, are available to sole traders or individuals who may have a small business and are impacted. There is zero-interest finance there. We would encourage them to engage directly with the local enterprise offices of the Department that operate in every region. Many in the entertainment sector have done so. We have made available a range of measures and, as I said earlier, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has schemes for live performers and others. I do not know the detail of those but I envisage there are measures there which may be helpful. The policy issues might be more appropriate for the Minister and colleagues from the Department of Social Protection.