Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party) | Oireachtas source

I have one last question related to rising inflation. The proposed 9% VAT rate that I hope will come in would allow businesses to not increase their costs, ensuring that a family break, for example, does not cost more for the consumer. It has been shown that holidays are at the back of the list. People are seeing they cannot afford to go on holidays or breaks or to dinner. Based on a survey that was done recently, one in four families does without a meal to help provide for their children and to make various payments, be those for a car or whatever. I would welcome the 9% VAT rate because it could stop companies from raising their overall turnovers to try to subsidise something else when they are battling wage increases. I will give one example. I was talking to a hotelier who was not only providing hotel stays but also food. One increase alone in wages cost the hotelier, over the term of one year, €430,000 extra. The hotelier then has to look at the rooms, which are at a different rate, the food and everything else. If the hotel is providing music, a band or alcohol, there is a certain tariff. It is so complicated, people would nearly want to have a tax adviser sitting there to advise them on how to simplify that and help them to have a quality of life outside of work. The 9% VAT rate is a must to help that because it can actually become a reward system for people who are working hard and who might want a small break to get away. It also stops the likes of the hoteliers and all the rest of those people who are supplying food in different areas from raising their prices to try to counteract the wage increases.