Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Exactly. The Aldi and the Lidl stores are great with lower prices. I know people have very little money and have to get best value. Shoppers can gravitate to those stores but that will wipe out small rural shops, leading to no shops between two major towns. Once the multiples have everyone in, they will increase their prices. We must look at rates and other incentives to keep rural shops open. Otherwise, we will just have big towns with big stores, having wiped out rural Ireland. Then there will be crocodile tears. I am not joining anymore protests in this regard. People should save their shops and post offices themselves by using them.

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