Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

This is the second time in two weeks we have had a Private Members' debate focussing on the business sector. The previous debate was on the small business sector in particular and we urged the Government to support small businesses and help to ensure that credit was available to them at a crucial time.

In recent weeks, we have seen small businesses take another hit, particularly those in the Border region. Many speakers in this debate mentioned the large queues shown in the media of consumers moving elsewhere to purchase products and groceries. Who can blame them? The consumer will always follow prices and this is the nature of the beast. If prices are cheaper in another jurisdiction people will go there. We have seen the queues going to Newry and heard about the devastating effect this is having on businesses in the Border region. The weakness of sterling against the euro does not help those operating in this jurisdiction.

Not many people from Cork will go to Newry to do their shopping. However, I know of many people flying to Manchester and London in the UK on day trips and buying small goods, small electrical goods, computer games, Christmas gifts, clothes and other items. It is happening in other areas but perhaps it is not as obvious.

The appeal of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to Irish people to be patriotic and to stay at home to do their shopping will not ring true with anybody. People want to see action from the Government to ensure factors which contribute to high costs here can be reduced. Increasing VAT, even if it is by 0.5%, is going in the wrong direction. If anything we should see a reduction in inflation, encourage people to spend money and send out a more positive message in this area.

We hear this country is an expensive place to do business. The Small Firms Association and ISME regularly come before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment outlining the costs they face. As local authorities begin the process of setting commercial rates, Fine Gael has asked them to be conscious of small businesses and, where possible, to ensure that commercial rates are not increased. I am glad to have read today that Cork County Council will not increase commercial rates. I am disappointed Dublin City Council increased them by 3% as this will be another burden on businesses.

Areas under the control of the Government that can be effective in reducing the burden on businesses include waste and water charges. In Cork, we have a serious problem as the water treatment plant in Little Island in which we had major investment has resulted in an increase in costs to businesses which now have to pay for water going in and water coming out. This was not in their reckoning as many people thought that money for the treatment plant was coming from Europe through the Cohesion Fund. The cost of running the facility is an enormous burden on businesses.

We do not have domestic water charges. However, from a business point of view there is no transparency in the charges administered by local authorities. There is no way of knowing what is the contribution from Government to the local authority fund. These are the issues which are frustrating for people. They feel there is no transparency and they are lumbered with costs. These are areas which the Government can control. It should be the case that something as important as the contribution to domestic water charges is a defined item so businesses can clearly see what the local authorities are charging and that it is a fair price. That type of transparency does not currently exist.

I am sure there was an open and frank exchange of views when the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coughlan, met recently with retailers. I assume the latter did not waste the opportunity to outline the costs they face both in terms of local authority charges, as I have indicated, and energy costs. In August, for example, electricity charges were increased by 17.5%, while gas prices rose by 20%. Since that time, the price of a barrel of oil has decreased from $147 to $45. Why have we seen no corresponding reduction in energy costs? We accept that those costs are related to the price at which oil is purchased on the international market at a given time, but when that price drops to such an extent, that reduction should be reflected in the price of electricity, home heating oil and gas.

The Commission for Energy Regulation recently organised an energy forum. This public initiative was welcome, but no consumer representative was included. Consumers are taking all the hits without being given any voice. The National Consumer Agency has urged people to shop around and to shun retailers who charge large mark-ups. The chief executive officer of the agency, Ms Ann Fitzgerald, has acknowledged that costs are higher in this State but the question that must be answered is exactly how much higher they are. I very much look forward to the report referred to by both the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, which will outline the costs to retailers and others trying to do business in this jurisdiction. If the report is as positive as the Minister suggests, it should help to ensure better value for consumers by contributing to the ending of rip-off Ireland.

There are other areas in which the Government can have a significant influence in terms of charges to consumers. In the health service area, for example, we have seen an increase in medical centre charges, accident and emergency charges and the cost of private and semi-private beds in public hospitals. Added to these are the failure of the Government to keep the cost of medicines down, as well as the recent imposition of the levy on health insurance. All these increases are adding to the cost of living for consumers. On top of the added tax burden on the average family of €2,450 arising from the budget, these increased charges do not spell good news for consumers. Rather than calling for patriotic action from citizens, what is required is an effort by the Government to reduce costs to both businesses and consumers.

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