Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)

I thank the Minister for the information. We share his passion for this programme. My concern is that it seems that a pilot was run and we are just getting another pilot. We need more certainty, more permanence and a broader cohort of people who can access it. I raised in previous sessions with the Minister the idea that a pilot should also be something that we capture the data from and potentially offer to other cohorts in society. At that time, he dismissed it. He said that he was just looking after his Department and that it was not fair to expect that he would be sharing those results with Cabinet colleagues to identify other cohorts in Irish society who could benefit from a basic income. In the last couple of weeks, in the culture, communications and sport committee, we have identified that a good group of people who would be eligible for this or would potentially benefit from it is journalists, who are within the Minister's area. I also would like to raise again that seasonal farmers are another group. There are lots of groups in Irish society to which this could apply. If we let this pass by without capturing this data, learning from it and seeing how we can apply it to others, we are missing a trick.

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