Mr. Sean Collender:

I will take that. I thank the members and wish them all a good afternoon. I have been in business for 25 years and we have three restaurants in suburban Dublin. We have been through many ups and downs over the years with domestic and international crashes, but we have been able to weather the storm. Since 2019, it has been inherently different. I am deeply concerned as a domestic restaurant owner. The risk-reward ratio for me as an entrepreneur doing business in Ireland is out of kilter. We have looked at the input costs. We are looking at a small cafe-type place of 1,000 sq. ft. The outfitting cost has come in from four separate places and it is touching €600,000. We operate three more mid- to upper market restaurants that have been operating successfully over a number of years. I will give an insight as to why VAT and PRSI are important. As of 31 May, our three wages were 41%, 39% and 50% of turnover for the first five months of this year. They are unsustainable. The figure has traditionally been approximately 33%.

We have not really increased our prices, apart from during the past six or seven months where we have unfortunately had to put up our prices three times. We traditionally might have increased our prices once every 18 to 24 months. Even with that, we are getting nowhere close to making our business sustainable. The market used to be able to correct itself over the years. From the 2001 crash to the 2007 crash I always had hope that the market would correct itself and we could get through it. However, the level of costs now is unsurmountable for us. That is why VAT going back to 9% and, as our colleagues have said, a PRSI reduction for the lower paid is essential to make us sustainable going forward. These are things that have to happen. In one of our locations, there have been units empty beside us for the past two years. In another location, one unit near us is entering its fourth operator in 18 months. Another unit has been empty for 24 months in our area. It is a 200-seater approximately and is now seemingly owned by a large UK financial hospitality group. It is a worry that outside hospitality groups coming in with huge corporate and financial backing can start to populate these restaurants and may exit.

More than ever, there is the bigger picture of how tariffs can have an impact and how this country is reliant on five businesses. Do not do the same to home-grown, small, independent businesses that are the lifeblood and culture of why we all go out and enjoy ourselves. Give them an opportunity to say it is worth their taking a risk.