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

I am glad to speak on behalf of many business owners in Kerry who have been in contact with me about this issue. They are finding it difficult to run their businesses at night. They were thinking about stopping the night-time entertainment they were putting on because when they added up all of the costs it was just not profitable to be at that business late at night.

I can see this from all sides because all my clinics are held in smaller public house venues. You do not want to be upsetting one by supporting another. There is a place for nightclubs and event venues and young people want to frequent them. The business people who open these venues give a lot of employment, whether it is the staff who work in them at night, the people who maintain them or the bouncers on the doors. It is a big industry. In County Kerry we are fortunate to have many people involved in this business. They have lobbied me greatly. Before the budget, I tabled parliamentary questions on negating the charge to zero. I welcome any reduction.

Some of the people who pay for these licences do so a good number of times in a week. If one adds that together, it does come to money. I would have liked the Government to go further in the budget but at least it is a step in the right direction. That is an acknowledgement that it is not all sunshine for these business people. Between repayments on loans, staff costs, energy costs and all of the other different costs involved in putting on late-night entertainment, there is an awful lot of expense involved. Since the pandemic, things have not got back to where they were. I say this on behalf of every business involved in entertainment. There seems to be a slowness in people getting back into what I would call full swing or what we had before Covid. I support all of the other measures taken today that will in any way help business. At the same time, I believe the Government did not go nearly far enough in supporting businesses.

I have been getting a lot of calls since the budget was announced. People are saying it simply will not be enough to help them to keep the doors open. I am very fearful that in County Kerry, for example, many of the small businesses have been struggling since the pandemic but they got over it. I always readily acknowledge that the Government supports were very important during Covid, but what is happening now is affecting businesses worse than Covid. They are finding it unbearable at the moment, with the costs that have ramped up against them. They are finding it very difficult. Any money that was in the bank is gone and they are watching how they go from week to week. That is a very big worry for people. There are some who may not have worried in the past about finances but now they do. I welcome this measure as a step in the right direction.

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