Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I congratulate everybody involved in the debate and welcome the Minister of State. Having been unaware the debate would take place until I arrived this morning, I have not prepared.

I wish to relate a story about the Japanese owner of a large chain of supermarkets who visited me several years ago and left a lasting impression on me. When I asked him how many stores he had, he replied he had 14,000 outlets worldwide. When I then asked what made him different from others in the business – I opened my first shop in the same year he opened his and I was rather proud of having 19 shops by this time – he told me he would think over the answer. On arriving at our destination, my home, he replied that the reason for his success lay in self-belief. One will be proved right, he said, whether one believes one has a chance against an opponent – he was a tennis player – or has no chance. Senators will wonder where this story is leading. His response impressed me because he had built up a huge supermarket chain.

A similar question will be asked of the Government in the context of inflation. If it decides dealing with inflation is a priority, of which there is little doubt in light of the figures in the Forfás report, it will have to make a number of decisions, many of which will be uncomfortable. Ireland, according to the various measurements in the report, is in the upper range of the inflation league, either first, second or fifth depending on the heading. The report states at the outset that the Government is responsible for between 30% and 40% of inflation. It could, therefore, take immediate steps to reduce inflation, but these may not be in the best interests of the State as a whole.

Senators Leyden and Coghlan touched on some of the decisions which had to be made. Let me address one of the drivers of inflation raised every time inflation is discussed, namely, the high cost of doing business here. We have some decisions to make in this regard, one of which will be on insurance, a heavy cost to all businesses, not only the grocery or restaurant trades. I understand our insurance costs are the highest in Europe.