Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There are about 282,000 people in Ireland working in the retail sector in all villages, towns and cities. It is a hugely important sector in the creation of employment. As the Minister of State said, only 28% of those who have a web page can actually sell online. The figures I have are that €850,000 is spent online by Irish consumers every hour, of which €600,000 is lost to businesses outside Ireland. That presents a huge challenge to Irish businesses. While I welcome the increase in support to which the Minister of State has referred - €1.25 million - it is only for businesses with more than 20 employees. Everybody in this Chamber knows of smaller businesses in his or her area that really need to compete online because Irish consumers have changed their ways. This is crucial to maintain the viability of Irish businesses.

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