Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the unprecedented level of support for the creation and support of employment, and that is because that is a core value of the programme for Government. It probably will not be fully understood, perhaps given the mechanism in which it is paid. Sometimes there is not transparency around how much support Government is giving. However, we have a problem. When Members supporting the Government and Members opposing the Government are indicating that people who are not rateable-based self-employed business operators have no support, the Government must act. From speaking to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Varadkar, and the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, I understand the difficulty is in how we administer a scheme that supports such non-rateable, perhaps vehicle-based, employment. We must find a way. If one wrote down on a piece of paper how much the Government has given a taxi driver in the past year compared to how much it has given many other sectors, it is obvious we have not provided equal support. It is obvious also that we must go much further to help them meet the fixed costs they have. They have fixed costs but they do not have fixed premises. I urge the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to find a mechanism that allows us support these businesses. We all support the small business man and woman and yet we have left them behind in how we have supported businesses. I urge the Minister to match the ambitions we have had for CRSS, EWSS and all the other schemes in targeting those people who have been left behind.

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