Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I am chairperson of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and I visited Dundalk and the Border region last January and spent two days there. We are acutely aware of the problems that are arising. I am also acutely aware many people not only in the Border counties but also down in the deep South are going over the Border into Newry and elsewhere. The committee visited Banbridge and Belfast and Deputy Morgan was with me on that visit. I am aware of the impact in Dundalk and areas around the Border. In this context I would like to know what will be the impact of this provision. The very important issue is that the 0.5% increase in the rate of VAT did not sound very significant but the psychological effect is fundamental. At the very time when the VAT rate was falling in Britain where Alastair Darling brought it down by 2%, we widened the differential. Along with the weakness in sterling and everybody offering an exchange rate of parity with sterling, I ask if this will make any impact. I do not know how much impact it will make on employment and I would support every measure that stimulates employment but this may well be construed as mere tokenism in terms of job stimulus-----

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