Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On Saturday, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, said taxi drivers would not be included in the reopened PUP scheme. On Sunday, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, said they potentially would be if they could show they had lost their job as a result of the latest restrictions, and there was reference to a Revenue or social welfare audit. Will the Taoiseach indicate whether taxi drivers will be included and, if so, how they will be assessed? Regarding the concept of losing one's job, we know 100% of late-night work is gone as well as at least 50% of other work. If the Department of Social Protection is so inclined, it can point towards the remaining work and say it is available to all taxi drivers to fight over. It is not enough to sustain them, however, especially over the Christmas period. Will the Taoiseach outline how the Government will support the taxi drivers over Christmas, which is a couple of weeks away?

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