Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach did not mention any of the things the businesses in Donegal mentioned, which include the closure of post offices and the closure of Garda stations, that is, the things that are having an impact on their businesses. The Taoiseach spoke about the reduced VAT rate which has been in existence throughout the lifetime of the decline of rural Ireland but has had zero impact on it. Local businesses are struggling and they are dying on their feet because people are being sucked out of rural areas. Unless we deal with that, we will have empty rural areas and there will be nobody to avail of the VAT reductions to which the Taoiseach refers.

Over 80% of the people I surveyed said they had not heard of any Government initiatives. Small businesses struggling to keep open have not heard of any response from the Government. Many of them say they have never been asked about these things, which I found startling. Given that Fine Gael is the so-called party of small business, I would have thought it would have asked them what would work for them, but maybe they do not want to hear the answers, which are to keep the shops open, keep the Garda stations open, keep the post offices open and keep the rural areas vibrant and alive.

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