Mr. Damian Duggan:

I am a trained horologist. I have a trade, I do all my own watch repairs, jewellery repairs, valuations and so on. It is still very tough in retail, which is due to a combination of many things. There are all the overheads, to which the robberies and so on are added. I have two sons, 21 and 17 years, and I would not encourage them into this business in a million years. I love it and am passionate about it but between online shopping, things being bought abroad and generally how tough retail is, if it was not for the services that I provide, I would be gone as a retailer a long time ago. I do not see a future for my lads in that trade.

Also, as I said earlier, I had six days holidays last year which was split over three weekends. I work six days a week. I am the secretary treasurer of an association that supplements my income. It is not easy. There are issues with banking. We are told that banks are giving loans to small and medium enterprises but as far as I am concerned that is rubbish. I say that because banks are removing overdraft facilities from businesses, putting them on term loans and calling it new business. They are telling politicians that they are doing new business with small and medium sized enterprises. The banks are doing nothing for us. I own my own property but were I to walk into a bank tomorrow to ask for a €20,000 loan, I guarantee I would be refused, even though I have very good stock and a healthy business I am running at a profit. It is not a huge profit but it is a healthy business. There is no money out there to be lent to small retail businesses. Everything is smoke and mirrors as far as I am concerned, and I hear this across the board, not only among jewellers. I have a friend who runs a hardware store. It is a family business which has been around for over 100 years. When he leaves, which will probably be in around five or six years, that will be the end of the family business because he would not have his daughters or his son go into it. That is a really sad reflection on retail. When we are all gone, people will scratch their heads and say there are no more retail business around and will ask what happened. All they will have is big superstores or online shopping. There will be no service industry whatever.