Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Senator Coghlan mentioned that the Government yesterday pledged to pay all suppliers within 15 days. It is sometimes not known that successful businesses can fail not because they are not profitable but because they run short of cash. Therefore, this initiative is to be highly recommended. Anything the Government can do to ensure the cashflow of businesses will enable them to survive. There are 6 million shops in Europe with 30 million people working in them. This is the sort of step that can protect jobs and get the economy going again.

Another thing I would love to see the Government do is to recognise the short time in which people are told they must pay value added tax. It must be paid by the 15th of the month. It would not cost the Government anything other than cashflow to stretch that to 60 days, for example. It would protect cashflow in these business and enable them to survive at little cost to the State.