Mr. Mark Fielding:

I agree with everything Senator Feargal Quinn said. Of course, it is down to ourselves to do it. I come from a retailing background and remember the shop in Thurles. The first thing every shopkeeper did was sweep the path outside the shop. That would have been second nature, but we lost it because people expected the council to do this, that and the other. On the introduction of the concept of town teams, again, we must do it ourselves, although I take the Senator's point that there must be support available. It is all very well, however, for five or six retailers to say, "Look at that ugly shop that has been closed; let us do something with it," as one comes across difficulties in getting anywhere because there is a landlord who is just sitting on his or her hands. There is a need for support in that regard.

I also take Senator Feargal Quinn's point about the Internet. I keep going back to the point that there are parts of the country in which people cannot engage in it because of the broadband service available, but that is another day's work. I agree that part of the future is Internet shopping, regardless of whether we are talking about a town or an out-of-town centre.