Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleague, Deputy Hogan, for tabling this important proposal to freeze Government charges on business. I had hoped there might be cross-party support for the motion because the measures it contains seem so obvious. We are facing a multifaceted crisis, a large component of which relates to jobs and competitiveness. We are relying on the private sector to create jobs because the Government is broke and cannot do so, but those jobs will not be created until we restore our competitiveness. We must make Ireland a good place once again in which to do business, and that means reducing cost levels. The motion, however, does not even go that far but merely proposes that the cost base not be increased for three years. I am very disappointed that the Government is not prepared to support Fine Gael's proposal to assist businesses.

Deputy O'Rourke observed earlier that the Labour Party's decision not to support the Fine Gael motion was indicative of a difference in our respective policies on this matter. If we did not have different policies we would be the same party. Deputy O'Rourke does not even seem aware of her own party's policy. The Fianna Fáil manifesto for the local elections included a commitment not to increase local government rates for five years. However, Deputy O'Rourke acknowledged earlier that this policy has changed and described the increase in rates as minuscule. The reality is that the increase in rates has been massive, as have the increases in other charges imposed on business, such as water and waste charges. In the case of a small business whose owner wishes to sell spirits, for instance, the budget increased the licence fee payable from €300 to €500, with the same sum applying for beer and wine. A small shop with a very modest turnover must pay that licence fee in order to sell wine and must then pay the VAT, excise duty and other taxes associated with selling the product.

We expect the private sector to reduce prices and it has done so. We expect it to reduce costs and it is doing and will continue to do so, but it needs some assistance from the Government in that regard. However, that assistance is not forthcoming. Companies are being squeezed on one side by the effect of the recession on consumer spending and on the other side by Government charges. The result is that businesses are going to the wall and jobs are being lost. Until we reverse this policy of hiking more and more costs on business, the situation will continue to deteriorate. The Government must begin with energy costs, which have increased from the second lowest in Europe when this party was last in office to the second highest today. The existing regulatory structure should be done away with and an instruction issued immediately to the ESB to reduce its prices within two years to the European average. That will make a difference. If Ministers are prepared to show leadership by reducing their salaries in line with European norms, they must also have the courage to impose that leadership on entities such as the ESB and Bord Gáis in order to secure price cuts for consumers.

The Government must reduce its costs, review the joint labour committee, JLC, system, which is holding up labour costs unnecessarily, and reduce regulation or at least hold it steady for the next three years. That is all we ask. We have called for a national action plan on competitiveness to reduce the cost of business in order to make it possible for businesses to survive and create jobs when the upturn comes. However, we have not even gone that far in the proposal before us today. All we are asking for in this motion is that the Government does not make things worse for the next three years. The fact that the Minister of State's party and the other Opposition parties cannot support this really says it all. Only one party in this country supports business and employment, and that is Fine Gael.

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