Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

That was a good excuse some years ago but the reality now is that it is Irish people who are emigrating to China, India and elsewhere rather than vice versa, so that should not be our major concern. I know the Minister does not have responsibility for visas but he must drive this as Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has no interest in this, it is interested in keeping people out of the country. We must get them in, however, and the Minister must drive that process. There has been a suggestion of a shared visa with Britain, where the British would do the scanning and research. Surely that would be good enough for us. Someone must grab this opportunity.

The Minister is meeting the industry about car rentals. This is boiling up and will become a real problem. By May it will not be possible to hire a car in Ireland if it is not already booked. The scrappage scheme means that leased cars are dearer than new cars so dealers are not interested in sourcing them for car hire businesses. The removal of the benefit that went to car hire providers through the VRT refund has been withdrawn this year. If the Minister could have a provision inserted into the Finance Bill to postpone it, it would be welcome. Both measures coming together will be catastrophic.

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