Proposals to award grant-aid to hackneys that operate in rural areas have been described by members of the Oireachtas Transport committee as an effort to make amends for unpopular driving laws that have come too late for country areas.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is open to "liberalising" licensing rules for taxi and hackney drivers in rural Ireland in a bid to address ongoing concerns over the impact of new drink driving laws.

A "violent and dangerous" schizophrenic has absconded from a mental health unit in Hackney, Scotland Yard said.