Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was 6 million in the case of the Jewish people alone and millions of others, to the extent that about 20 million altogether were exterminated in one way or another. Their lives were terminated. Their futures were terminated. Their families were terminated. Their raison dêtre - the reason for their existence - was terminated. They had no future. We need to remember all of that and that when extremism takes over we need to have a way and means to stabilise and social cohesion is one of those ways and means. The Government and Ministers have done admirably in addressing that issue in a way that balances the demands in the budget and recognises at the same time that there are genuine causes that have not been dealt with at this stage but may well be.

For instance, the entertainment sector is not happy it did not get 9% VAT rate it looked for. There is an issue there that needs to be looked at. I have spoken about this issue previously as have several Members in the House. The Government needs to examine that to find out exactly what is happening to that industry because it has become wobbly, to say the least of it. There may be things that can happen within the industry. There may be things that should happen from outside the industry. Maybe rent costs are pushing the uncompetitive button. There are a number of things. Unfortunately, there is not enough time during this debate to go into those nuances but suffice to say I believe, for what little my opinion is worth in the House, that the Ministers and Government have done well. They have taken into account the areas that need to be touched and had a concern and compassion for those who need to be dealt with favourably. This is part of a trend that has gone on, will go on and needs to go on.

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