Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Social welfare entitlements are set out in law, upon which the inspectors must make their decisions. The individual to whom the Deputy referred obviously has a particular difficulty. Confidence in the social welfare system is a separate issue to that of fraud. I have had numerous representations concerning difficulties in the taxi industry. That industry used to provide reliable employment for one person or a family. We now have large volumes of people working in the taxi sector where a review is currently going on. The key thing is to ensure that taxi drivers' PRSI numbers are recorded. In addition, when they are working in the taxi industry they must be recorded for tax and PRSI purposes. At the moment, special investigation units are carrying out inquiries throughout the country to ensure that people who are offering taxi services are properly registered for tax and PRSI. It is vital that every other citizen who is paying tax and PRSI has confidence that others are not abusing the system.

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