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

This is a savage attack on rural Ireland. Dublin and the big urban centres are not hurting. This a direct attack on small businesses in County Kerry. If one looks at any part of the Ring of Kerry or any rural area in County Kerry where there is a small guest house, bed and breakfast accommodation and a small restaurant, one will see that they will struggle to keep the doors open between now and St. Patrick's Day. They face an uphill struggle and things are bad enough without hitting them with this savage tax as they have no way of making the money up. They cannot increase their rates because they would not be competitive. They still have to pay their employees.

As I said earlier in the day, when one is an employer Friday evening comes very fast and one must find the money to pay everyone. I am very surprised by what has happened. I believed we were safe when we had a Minister of State from my constituency. I did not or would not expect anything from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, because he is totally against rural Ireland. I cannot understand what has gone wrong with the Government because it was the reduction in the VAT rate that bailed out the sector and helped it to survive and keep going.

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