Mr. John McGrane:

I echo all of that. The rate system is outmoded. It is not even-handed and is entirely discretionary, with town being pitted against town and businesses in the community being pitted against online businesses. It does not make sense. The Family Business Network is calling for a root-and-branch overhaul of funding local services into ways that are not destructive, as is the case now.

Town planning is a vital issue in our provincial towns. It is also an issue in central Dublin. We are about to cut off access to some of the city's, and therefore the country's, most significant hotels. They bring in visitors - business, hospitality and tourism - and often act as feeder centres for provincial tourism. Visitors will have to leg it from somewhere on the other side of College Green to get through what is now a pedestrianised area. The lack of engagement on and consideration of consequences for one of our most important national industries - the tourism sector - is mind-boggling. It has to do with the relationship between local authorities and their communities, including their business communities. We need a root-and-branch dialogue about that.