Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

In the retail sector and in business parks in our large cities and towns, many firms are literally hanging on by their fingernails. The January sales are over. Valentine's day, which showed a very small consumer upsurge, is also over. We have a long road to St. Patrick's day and then Easter. I fear for many firms because there has been no action — or perhaps there has — from the Government to address the difficulties caused by people going to shop in the North. The Minister spoke about a Cabinet sub-committee on a strategy to retain jobs. Is it addressing the issue of people marching with their feet and shopping in the North?

In his earlier reply, the Minister suggested that the Exchequer figures for tax receipts in the first two weeks of February are a little better than those for January. The overall figure he gave for the year was a profile of €37 billion. I have not seen a report from any analyst who expects this figure to be realised. Does the Minister have a revised figure for tax receipts? Is it €34 billion or €33 billion?

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