Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Would the Minister agree with the Restaurants Association of Ireland's claim that jobs are at risk? Does she accept this is an urgent matter and that unless something is done at Government level to protect these jobs, they will be lost?

Finally, the Minister indicated that restaurants are very much part of our tourism infrastructure. An increasing number of visitors to Ireland enjoy not only our landscape and meeting our people but more particularly they enjoy eating locally produced produce. If these restaurants are taken out of the infrastructure, it will weak our tourism product.

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