Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

At ten against one, it is hard going being an Independent. We are up against big parties and resources so it can be very difficult. Senator Crown and his "nanny state" brigade should realise that people have civil liberties and should be allowed to do as they wish. Some 30% of the population makes a massive tax contribution every time we pay for a packet of 20 cigarettes. I am not saying this is good for one's health and I accept the health arguments. We should not be driven underground as it will lose hundreds of millions of euro in taxes.

Illegal cigarettes are destroying the retail industry. I have had many owners of small businesses attending my clinics who are losing thousands of euro every year because of the amount of smuggling that is ongoing. My point relates to tax and not health. It is time for Senator Crown to get a life and give some of us a bit of a break. We do not want to live in a nanny state and we should respect different views.

Part 4 contains three sections and addresses the third purpose of the Bill, which is to cause the Government to make the necessary provisions so that every purchase order by a Department or agency of more than €5,000 must be published on-line, with exceptions. This is a good initiative, particularly as it would relate to small businesses. We should not apologise for makinga special effort to try to give work to small businesses. Deputy Lawlor mentioned small businesses, and for me these are any enterprises employing three, four or five people. I do not agree that there must 50 or 100 people in a small business. Many people in this State employ three to five people, and we should help them; this part of the legislation is an attempt to put those people on the radar.

I warmly welcome the legislation and I would be glad to give the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, any details of the leaders' allowance any time he wishes. If he has time for research, he can see all the details on the relevant website. There is accountability and transparency.

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