Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I know, and I want to be fair to others. I just want to get this point across because this is my last chance to do so. Then I will stop. The arbitrary date of 7 December is ridiculous because much of the work for musicians collapsed in the weeks before that date. This arbitrary cut-off means that people impacted on or after that date are okay but anything that happened before then does not count for those people who apply or who were on something else. I am asking that the PUP be given to these people who have self-evidently had their work and incomes hit or reduced and that this PRSI contribution requirement be taken out of the qualification criteria because it does not apply to the self-employed. That is what they are being told is required, however. In addition, the MEBAS scheme for musicians will apparently not be reviewed until January 2022. Can we put some money into that scheme now, because the ongoing costs for that cohort of people are continuing even though there is no work for them?

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