Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Deputy Varadkar's important motion, which needs to be discussed in the House. It is clear from the Government amendment that it has failed to take on board many of the issues outlined in the Deputy's motion. Having read the amendment, it is clear that the members of the Government are not living in the same world as the rest of the Irish public. The amendment makes it clear that the Government does not appreciate that retailers and small businesses throughout the country are being squeezed. The Government's trite response indicates that it is not willing to show any leadership in addressing this issue or helping to ensure that small businesses survive. I refer in particular to the Tánaiste, who has reminded us that neither she nor any other member of the Cabinet owns a shop.

The Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, is welcome to criticise the position of the Fine Gael Front Bench, or the party as a whole, as much as he likes. However, I remind him that my party colleague, Deputy Bruton, set out a coherent strategy that would have improved the situation and would have prevented the messy cuts that were ultimately necessary. While I am keen to speak about the Fine Gael motion, rather than being distracted by the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, I cannot ignore the demands of the Government's unreal amendment. In the current economic climate, it is incredible that any government would attempt to commend itself on its "prudent management" of the public finances. Fianna Fáil has yet to accept any responsibility for its handling of the economy over the last 11 years. It has been anything but prudent. It should accept that its management of the economy caused this country to go into recession ahead of most of its European counterparts.

The Government amendment welcomes the continued job creation, as if we are all blissfully unaware of the fact that 269,000 people, many of whom will not receive any social welfare payments before Christmas, are on the live register. When I was in my office, I listened to the Tánaiste talking about job creation in various parts of the country. Perhaps she should visit Edenderry, Clara or Roscrea to explain to the workers of Rosderra Meats how they will get social welfare payments and tell them whether alternative employment will be available if the Government fails to support companies in the pig sector. The Tánaiste speaks about supporting Irish business and indigenous enterprise, but she does not act in a way that supports her words.

I would like to speak briefly about the foolish decision to increase VAT by 0.5%, which was compounded by the UK Government's decision to reduce the VAT rate in that jurisdiction to 15%, thereby putting further pressure on Irish business. One interesting aspect of the VAT increase is that it led to an increase of 10 cent in the cost of the toll on the M4-M6 motorway from 1 December last. This shows that Government policy is costing people money. The signs on the motorway said that the toll was increasing from €2.70 to €2.80 as a result of the budget day VAT increase. I am not sure whether similar increases have come into effect on other toll roads, as I have not been on them since 1 December. Unless my maths are wrong, the budget day VAT increase should have led to a 1.35 cent increase in the cost of the toll. However, the operators of the M4-M6 toll were able to pass on a 10 cent charge to consumers, business people and commuters who use the motorway day in, day out. Nothing has been done about it. I imagine that similar increases have been imposed on other toll roads.

The Government amendment "welcomes the recent decision of the Commission for Energy Regulation not to increase the price of gas or electricity". When there was a dramatic increase in the cost of oil some time ago, the utility companies successfully used it as an excuse to demand substantial price increases. Now that the price of oil has decreased dramatically, the Government should be looking for reductions in energy prices, in the interests of consumers and small businesses, rather than congratulating itself on not looking for further increases. The public does not believe the members of the Government when they pat themselves on the back and say they are doing a great job. When the Commission for Energy Regulation is deciding whether to increase or decrease the price of gas or electricity, it should listen to the views of small businesses and groups like the Society of St. Vincent de Paul that work with people on social welfare. As things stand, the commission does not listen to anything other than the very biased views of the utility companies.

The most ludicrous aspect of the amendment — it is almost entertaining — is the section in which the Government commends itself for setting a target. We know the Government was not inclined to set many targets over the last 11 years, but it is going too far by praising itself "on its target for reducing the burden of regulation on business by 25%". If that target is achieved, I will come to this House to commend the Government. That is when a commendation would be appropriate. The setting of a target should not be praised. If businesses operated in such a manner, we would be facing even worse circumstances than those we currently face. If one walks down the main street of any town in this country, one will be confronted with the reality that businesses are struggling to survive. Some shops have closed and others have "closing down" or "sale" signs as they try desperately to survive. While sales are welcome, the impact of shop closures is questionable. When people try to improve or expand their businesses, they are hit with severe development levies. I fear that parking charges will increase in the coming weeks. Business people are terrified that local authority rates will also increase. The only thing keeping many businesses going is the hope that the Christmas market might improve.

There is a sad lack of the leadership in this Government, from the top down. I have already mentioned the Tánaiste. The only solution that has been proposed by the Minister for Finance to date has been to ask people to shop a little bit more. Does he not realise that his budget means that most people cannot do so?

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