Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is important that signage and advertisements directing people to visitor centres and places that have built up trade would continue to be allowed in the future regardless of whatever is passed by the Dáil. If the amendments will help or assist that, they are obviously important. We cannot have a situation of the goalposts being moved in the middle of the game. For those who applied for planning permission for visitor centres, who built up businesses and who perhaps have breweries with the relevant directional signage outside, anything that is passed by the Dáil should not impede, restrict or take away from the right of those people to advertise, direct or show individuals where their operations are located. As Deputy Fitzmaurice stated, people have had to develop these businesses wherever they could, wherever they owned the property and in whatever locations were available to them. We cannot go moving the goalposts now. If they have their permission and their operations are in place, we want them to stay there. We want them to be able to attract the visitors to their places and to continue to give employment. To do anything else would mean shutting them down and that would obviously be a retrograde step.

We have to be mindful that the power of legislation is all-consuming and that is why we have to be so careful about what we are doing here. That is why I have such concerns over what we are doing here. However, that is people's right and entitlement. The Bill will proceed but the Minister can be sure on one point, namely, that where I think it is wrong I will say it is wrong and where I think it is right I will say I think it is right. However, I am very worried about the signage aspect of existing businesses, breweries and visitor centres. There is a massive attraction for tourists and visitors who come here and who want to see how master craftsmen brew beer and distil whiskey, and who want to sample both. This is a niche market that was not there a number of years ago and we have to be so careful that what Deputies do here tonight will not be detrimental to those businesses.

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