Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is ironic that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, and other members of the Government have tried to tell us in the brief period in which I have been a Member of the Dáil that they cannot differentiate legislatively between rural Ireland and the greater urban area of Dublin. On this issue, we are told there cannot be a different VAT rate for rural areas and Dublin because of the legal implications. It is ironic that the Government can hide behind the legislation stipulating we cannot have separate tax arrangements for rural areas and Dublin. Did the Government not examine alternative taxation arrangements?

Down through the years, many small hotels thrived on the profit from nightclubs. The nightclubs are doing no business now.

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