Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

The definition of rural in this case is the 15% of the population of England who live in the most remote parts of the country. That is a far cry from claiming that 70% of towns and villages in the UK had no shop of any kind. It seems a long time ago that statistics were widely used to scare customers into believing that getting rid of the groceries order would result in a similar situation in the country. The statistic was dropped like a hot potato when my Department's report proved it to be a complete fallacy.

I thank the Deputies who made valuable contributions. I will pass them on to the Minister, Deputy Martin, and I am sure there will be a wide-ranging, informative discussion on Committee Stage.

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