Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My first question is for the Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Griffin. Where is the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross? This is of his making. He is supposed to be the Minister with responsibility for tourism, but he knows nothing about the country. Dublin might be booming but the country outside it is not. I refer to the small publican who serves food, as well as small businesses and small and bigger hotels. In any town in County Tipperary, on any night of the week, bar the weekend, one could park a train or drive it on the street as there are no cars. Rooms are not full. It might be a different story in Dublin. Has the Minister gone to see the granny flat or mind his granny? Where has he gone tonight that he is not here to move the resolution? It is his area of responsibility. He is supposed to be Minister with responsibility for tourism, of which, like everything else, he is making a damn bad job. First, he tried to penalise people in rural Ireland in driving. Now this is a total negation of duty.

I, too, am surprised by the Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Griffin. I do not want to be personal, but as a Minister of State who comes from the country, he will be aware of how difficult it is in rural Ireland. He will be aware how important is the 9% VAT rate. The figures which show the boost it gave tourism - I was given them today - are significant. There was talk during the week that the Government might increase it by two percentage points, but increasing it by four and a half is scandalous. The Minister of State came to Lismore to launch the Munster Vales for us in County Tipperary, west Waterford and east Limerick. We are trying to promote tourism, of which this proposal flies in the face. It shows that the Government does not care about rural Ireland, especially small business people and hoteliers. Look at all of the employment, including summer jobs, created. Look at all of the people who are gaining work experience. This was a measure that worked. Why fix it if it is not broken? It is a pure negation by the Independent Alliance. Its members leaned over and had their bellies rubbed. Is the Minister receiving €50 million as a kind of slush fund to spend on vanity projects? No doubt they will be all in south Dublin or parts of the plush suburbs. They will not be in County Tipperary or County Kerry. It is disgraceful that he has been given a sop of, as I said, €50 million. This measure should have been left alone, or perhaps the rate could have been increased by one percentage point and in time increased incrementally. The studies are available. They show that it was successful. It is a disaster for rural Ireland.

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