Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

While it is widely acknowledged that things have been booming in the Dublin area, we must be mindful of small hotels in rural parts of Ireland which will not have beds full tonight and which struggle during the week especially. We must also be mindful of restaurants. We ought also to take into account that we are trying to keep people visiting here from England as tourists. It is not a good idea to put added costs on top of them. I am fearful for the small operators who are struggling. I acknowledge that tonight, in Dublin, one probably would not get a hotel bed and those hotels are charging pretty strong prices. However, it is like a weighing scale where one might put a few pounds on one side but the other drops. It may be detrimental to rural parts of Ireland.

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