Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

Is mian liom an deis seo a ghlacadh chun comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Seanadóir nua-thofa, James Carroll, as Contae Lú. Cuirim fáílte mór roimh James, nó Séamus, go dtí an Seanad. I congratulate James and welcome him to the Seanad. It is great to see a new young Member in the Seanad and I know he will make a massive contribution and a big impact to the workings of Seanad Éireann in the years ahead. I wish him well in that.

I wish to touch on another issue raised by Senator Joe O'Toole in respect of the Student Support Bill. This year more than ever we recognise the need to move on this Bill, particularly in light of the fact that this year there are major difficulties across local authorities in processing third level maintenance grant applications. There are considerable delays and many students are forced to leave their courses of study because the grants are not being processed in time. I do not blame local authorities or the vocational education committees which do not have the staff to process the applications. The Student Support Bill proposes the centralising of those applications and we should fast-track it if at all possible. I hope the Leader can provide us with an update, perhaps not today but in coming days. The Union of Students in Ireland is to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science to make a presentation on this matter and we welcome its views.

The issue was raised of VAT rates with regard to cross-Border shopping and was also referred to in national media yesterday. A survey report by the chambers of commerce was published this morning regarding cross-Border shopping and the views of Border county business owners. Some 90% of business owners in the six Border counties said they would welcome a reduction in VAT. However, VAT is not the sole issue. We can say it is but it is not. There are three issues involved and Senator Dan Boyle touched on one. First, there is the sterling issue, over which we have no control. The British have printed additional sterling and reduced the value of their currency. We cannot deal with that but we can deal with the two other issues. Regarding VAT, this year we will have an advantage, or the Minister for Finance will have an advantage, because the Irish budget will come after the British budget. Last year it was the other way round. The Minister will use the forewarning of the British budget to deal with that issue.

Senator Boyle referred to the third issue, namely, the cost of doing business here as opposed to in the North. That relates to wages. If one considers individuals on social welfare, here they get about a quarter more than in the North. We must look at the global picture and deal with wages and the cost of living here versus in the North. There are many issues involved and we should have a debate before the budget if at all possible so that we may bring our own views to the Minister.