The Minister of State Jim Daly has said the Minister for Transport is "supportive" of his proposals to introduce an Uber-style transport network in rural Ireland.
Mr Daly who is Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People put forward the plan and said it would address the lack of public transport in rural areas.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Mr Daly said it would not involve any investment or resources on behalf of the Government, but would simply require political will.
Under the plan, people would be allowed to operate taxi services within 15 kilometres of their home, using their own cars.
There would be no restrictions on the hours people could work, the Minister said.
"People can use their own cars and say they'll do two days, or four days, or two hours work, once it is confined to a certain area and basic regulations are adhered to, such as garda vetting and NCT," he said.
He said at present it is illegal for people who are not licensed to do so to collect a fare for providing transport, so legislation would be required in order to introduce the scheme.
Minister Daly said he asked the chairperson of the Oireachtas Transport Committee, Fergus O'Dowd, to liaise with the insurance industry and other industry stakeholders.
He also said Minister for Transport Shane Ross has reviewed the plan and has asked the National Transport Authority to review it for their consideration.
Minister Daly said he is meeting the NTA's Chief Executive on 6 February to hear their views.
He added that while he did not want to speak for Minister Ross, he felt he had been "supportive" of the idea in their conversations.
