Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

What the Government has done is mean-spirited. If they had any respect for the construction industry — since the party no longer has a tent at the Galway Races, perhaps they do not know who their friends are, but they probably still have a few friends in the construction industry — they should make sure that small businesses are looked after such as that of Johnny Owens. They should remove the requirement in respect of the 31 December clause. It is only a penny-pinching exercise. There is no EU restriction or impediment preventing the Minister from extending that period. The authorities in Northern Ireland are prepared to do it and the period there has been extended up to March.

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