Ms Linda Barry:

I will pick up in particular on some of the comments that Senator Reilly made.

We really welcomed the retention of the 9% VAT rate. Many people are making the connection between the 9% rate and a very small subsection of that category - the hotels in Dublin - but we represent many companies in the tourism, hospitality and related sectors that are under that 9% rate and really benefit from it. Their stories are very different from the story put forward by the Senator today. Many of them are operating in regional economies and are highly dependent on tourists from the UK. They are really seeing a sharp drop in those tourist numbers. We have seen over the past years how effective that 9% VAT has been in supporting those businesses, and it was a really important signal to them this year that it was retained, because many of the companies availing of the rate are in the sectors that are highly exposed to Brexit. We were very supportive of its retention.

Red tape is a huge issue for our members. It has not had much attention today. In his opening remarks Mr. O'Brien said that it is a particular issue for small businesses because the cost is fixed and the business dealing with it is much smaller. In many cases it is the owner-manager who has to oversee compliance. Our members raise this most in the area of employment. They must comply with 40 items of employment legislation even if they only employ one or two people. This creates a huge amount of paper work, especially when they are trying to bring people from social welfare into employment. That is not made easy for them; there is a huge administrative burden around that whole area. I emphasise that although much of the conversation today has centred on the issue of rates, the administrative burden and the cost of compliance is a huge issue for our members.

Many of our members are interested in tendering for public contracts and becoming suppliers to Government. Again, the administrative burden and the complexity in this area is a real barrier to them. I highlight that as an area that had not come up previously.