I support the point made by Deputy Conlon about the burden of local authority charges, which is something that all parties in this house can contribute to resolving. Many councils across Ireland are controlled by Opposition parties, and we do need to take practical steps to reduce the burden of local authority rates, development charges and so on so that viable businesses can continue to retain the jobs they have and create additional jobs. I support the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, in his efforts to reduce the amount of red tape and bureaucracy for SMEs.

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