Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)

I refer in particular to home owners and business owners who been unable to secure flooding insurance because of past flooding incidents. That issue has not been addressed in the Government response. I spoke to a businessman last night, to whom I had spoken on numerous occasions over the previous weeks, who is extremely distraught at the fact that his business is on its last legs. He believes he and many others will go out of business in January and February. We must address this issue forcefully in the new year.

I support Senator Mary White in the majority of what she said. She has experience of beginning a successful business. Members tend to exist in a cocoon in the House and it is important that we maintain close contact with business people in small businesses throughout the country to gauge how well business is doing.

The Senator made a reference to tourism. The Government's only response to the tourism crisis in the past year has been to charge €10 extra to visit Ireland. It is an appalling and backwards move. Despite the advice of its own tourism review group, which reported a few weeks ago before the budget, and the Commission on Taxation, which also reported before the budget, to remove the tax, the Government decided to leave it in place. I ask Senator Mary White to approach her Ministers over Christmas to reconsider this issue. When airlines charge €5 or €10 per fare and one is sitting Charleroi, Beauvais or Amsterdam, a €10 tax is a major factor in deciding which European country to visit.