Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to voice my opposition to this measure. Once again, we are hitting a sector that is on its knees. My own village of Ballynacargy has four small rural pubs, similar to many villages all over the country. Such pubs no longer open at this time of the evening; they do not open until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. and in some cases, 10 p.m. because the business is not there. The Taoiseach stated earlier that this measure is offset by the retention of the 9% VAT rate but that will not help many pubs in rural Ireland because they do not serve food. This measure is hitting the ordinary man and woman who like to have a pint in the evenings. It will do nothing to address the health issues. If the Taoiseach were serious about addressing the health concerns associated with excessive drinking he would not hit the place where people can go to drink in moderation and in a controlled environment. Last year, when I spoke in opposition to a similar motion I advocated the lid levy as a means of tackling below-cost selling in supermarkets, the Taoiseach replied that the Government would bring a report on below-cost selling of alcohol before the House in a matter of weeks. He told the House that the then Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, had completed a considerable amount of work prior to her departure. Almost 12 months later, that report is still to come before the House while the Taoiseach instead has tackled a labour intensive sector which is on its knees. Family businesses are on their knees and are not receiving any support. The Taoiseach should not talk about tackling the health issues caused by excessive drinking because if he were interested in that issue he would bring forward the report on below-cost selling.

See this speech in context