Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, they are not lending at present.

I congratulate Senator Feargal Quinn on publishing his book, Mind Your Own Business, and support his call for a debate on retailers in small towns who have been so badly let down by the planning authorities in recent years.

We have a responsibility because of that careless planning that allowed multinationals in on the outskirts of towns which, essentially, wipes out all business in small towns. The effect has been catastrophic to small towns. It is a debate that we need to have in this House. As Government, we need to have a strategy in this area because our planning was so much at fault in this regard.