Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the group from Chambers Ireland. We do not disagree on much in the presentation, but I have a few questions. First, what are Mr. Talbot's views on the impact of the collapse in people's incomes in recent years on town centres and the retail sector generally in the context of the budget cycle getting under way? Is there not a case to be made that the more income people have in their pockets, the more life there will be in town centres?

Second, I note Mr. Talbot did not refer to the impact of information technology, IT, and particularly the Internet on town centres. How would he propose to entice a generation aged up to the mid-20s that is utterly comfortable buying online and would buy online before going to the town centre? What proposals does he have in that regard?