Ms Tara Buckley:

I wish to clearly state that the views expressed belong to Senator Quinn. RGDATA does not share his views and has never campaigned for a reduction in the minimum wage.

I hope that I did not give the impression that there was too much legislation. I said that there was a body of employment legislation that did not exist when the joint labour committees were originally set up. It is proper that employment legislation applies to all employees in the State. RGDATA believes that is the right thing to do. We have an issue with hiving off one little section of the retail sector, the grocers, and giving them a different set of rules. We are happy to play by the rules and want to play by the rules. However, the same rules should apply to all retailers, not just give the retail grocers extra rules. That is our position. We disagree with the comments made by Senator Quinn. We have never campaigned for a reduction in the minimum wage.

Staff are very important because independent shops are about service and customer interaction. Our members want to employ people. We have clearly showed that our members, comprising 230 shops, have taken on 1,000 new people over the past two years. We want to employ people. We have research that will be released shortly which shows that our members want to train their staff. Training is important because the retail sector is changing, is quite dynamic and needs good engaged staff. We want to train staff and help them because the work is becoming more computerised and they must deal with a lot more issues. Good staff are valued in the independent trade and we think that we treat our staff very well. Our members work with their staff and it is like having family in the shop. Our members would not like to be seen as rogue employers because they are not. We agree that it is important that people have jobs in order that they can go shopping.

In terms of parking, a key point that we wish to make is that we want an open and free market. At present businesses in the town centre and the shoppers who travel into the town centres must carry the burden of collecting this type of funding. That burden should be shared and it should not be left to town centre shoppers to pay all of the fees. We agree that we need parking charges to ensure the proper use of parking spaces. Some councils have gone too far because it is now about a revenue grab rather than managing car parking.

Senator Quinn said that RGDATA members must do it for themselves. Our members are doing it for themselves. Look at Murphy's Centra in Ballinrobe and how its town centre trade works. Our members are all over the country and they work with other town centre traders to revitalise town centres. They spend time and effort doing so and know what they must do. We do not seek a handout. Parking is a big issue in Dún Laoghaire. Our members have even become parking angels and put 50 cent in a parking meter in order to prevent people being awarded a ticket. It is exactly how Mr. Morton explained. A customer will never return to a shop if he or she has a bad experience. For example, if he or she receives a fine of €120 or a clamp is applied to his or her vehicle along with an €80 fine, plus an hour's wait, all this would cause a lot of stress. That is the unfairness of it. We need help to solve the problem. We do not seek a handout but let us get on with doing what we do best. Let us get on with working with the other town centre traders but do not hinder us by trying to collect these huge fees from people who want to do business in the towns.