Feargal Quinn (Independent)

It is interesting to find that this is the day the Leas-Chathaoirleach cannot ask if we are calling on the Leader to arrange a debate on an issue because the Houses are taking a break for a few weeks. I would like to give Members some homework to do. I was impressed by the words of the largest pharmaceutical company in Britain which stated the UK regime made it attractive to conduct more business there. It pledged to shift more manufacturing activities to Britain in response to the tax incentives offered. I would like to Members to do homework on the following issue. The Government did something similar in recent weeks in reducing the rate of VAT and the travel tax to provide an incentive for companies to conduct more business here. A very large number of those companies did not pass on that tax reduction. Our homework in the coming weeks is to remind those companies that did not pass on that reduction to do so. It is not easy to tell in some cases if they have done that because we would not remember what they were charging a few weeks ago but as far as I know all the newspapers have reduced their prices. I have been in a number of restaurants that brought down their prices but I am also aware of a number that have not done so. This applies to airlines too and a number have not reduced the travel tax or the value added tax, yet somebody in Britain is saying they will move their pharmaceutical business here because of the tax incentive introduced here. We have done that but I fear some of the businesses are not responding and if that is so, it is highly unlikely we will be able to make the case to any future Government to do the same.