Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is either an unintentional or deliberate misunderstanding of the Government's increased cost of business scheme, which is targeted. I am sure Opposition Deputies have often got queries into their constituency offices as to why someone over a certain threshold does not qualify. There are very clear thresholds showing that this is being targeted, as Deputy Smith knows. If any Member of Dáil Éireann does not believe we should pay another additional sum of the increased cost of business grants to retail or hospitality, they should let me know. They should let their constituents know and let the café owners know. I would have thought there is a consensus that the increased cost of business grant is the very least we should be doing to try to help businesses at this hard time. In advance of the budget, we are trying to see how we can be innovative within the resources we have available.

I do not buy into this idea of pitting one group of people against the others.

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