Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Businesses cannot operate without energy. In some cases, the more energy a business uses, the more productive it is. The Government, however, is hammering business. While I fully support measures to incentivise green energy to meet our carbon commitments, this must not be done in a token, artificial manner to raise funds, as was evident in the most recent budget. Green Party members clapped themselves on the back as if they had done something wonderful when, in reality, they ripped off the poor old motorist, householder and consumer.

The Government does not listen to real people such as small business owners. I will give an example of what it is doing wrong. Among the issues discussed by the Minister for Transport were train journeys. I used to travel frequently by train between Dundalk and Dublin but have not used the train service in more than two years because Iarnród Éireann introduced car parking charges of €2 for each use of the carpark. If one parks at a railway station and is caught overnight in Dublin or elsewhere, one will find one's car clamped on one's return. As someone with a background in business, I would have taken a completely different decision from that foisted on train passengers. I would have tried to make travelling by train attractive by spending a few thousand quid to erect a shelter from the railway station to the centre of the carpark. This would have provided commuters with some shelter on wet mornings and allowed them to reach the station without getting soaked. Iarnród Éireann has taken the wrong approach.

On the issue of signage, if someone wants to erect a sign either advertising his or her business or giving directions, he or she must pay the local authority a €650 fee per sign per annum. I am lucky because I live in the Cooley Mountains and constituents in bother who do not know my number find it difficult to find me because they must traverse several boreens and twists and turns to reach me or my business. It is ridiculous that companies in rural areas that need to erect a sign for directional purposes to allow suppliers or customers find the business without first calling into every house along the way must pay this licence fee.

The Government informs us it is addressing competitiveness. Competitiveness is being used by the Government as an excuse to reduce the minimum wage and get stuck into the very people the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, said it was supporting. It is utter nonsense to claim the Government is supporting people on the margins. It is time the Government started to listen to someone on this side. Adopting the principle behind this Fine Gael Party Bill would not be a bad start.

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