Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Senators Paul Coghlan, Maurice Cummins and Michael Mullins on bringing the Bill before the House. Since I became a member I have heard many raise the issue of what the large, out-of-town shopping centres are doing to local cities, and the urban and neighbourhood communities. We have seen the different policies of each local authority around the country. There are inconsistencies on the part of local authorities in respect of how they implement the charges. Therefore, a national policy would be good.

Senator Mary White mentioned the responsibility of local authorities and co-operation with retail outlets. It is not only the retail outlets that have to provide parking. I live in Dublin South West where there is one shopping centre that pays rates on its parking area. A revaluation process was finalised in Dublin last year. In that revaluation, parking spaces were valued out of all proportion but were reduced on appeal and, thankfully, that appeal system is working. It is worth bearing in mind that a case study could be done on the issue where shopping centres are suffering. I speak from experience of living in Dublin South West which has an out-of-town shopping centre. I commend Senator Paul Coghlan for bringing forward the Bill because towns are being denuded. We must define "out-of-town". When we look at Dublin and Tallaght, clearly Tallaght should be a city. Perhaps this is an opportunity to put down a marker again to say Tallaght is a city.

Tallaght is a lot more than a town - it is larger than Limerick - yet it is still defined as a town. There are also towns in other urban areas in the same situation. We must protect the local neighbourhood shopping centres that exist in towns and in places such as Templeogue, Rathfarnham, villages in Cork and places in Cork city. I am sure Senator Paul Coghlan had that in mind when drafting the Bill and that the matter will be addressed in detail in his legislation. On many occasions it has been mentioned that something must be done about out-of-town locations. His Bill has shown the way and given a lead on the matter. All the details must be ironed out. I wish to put on the record the view that we must protect local neighbourhood shopping centres.

We must also bring VAT rates into line. A lot of people use their cars to shop locally. VAT on bicycles is 25%, but if it was reduced to 0%, people might buy bicycles and use them to go shopping.

As another Senator has mentioned, rents are based on free parking at present, because every charge introduced has an impact on the shopkeeper and the customer who avails of the facility. How can we balance the needs of the retailer with the needs of local authorities? We do not want to infringe on a local authority's right to raise moneys through parking fees. Fair pricing, more flexible parking fees that do not erode the finances of local authorities, low off-peak rates and special day rates for parking could be introduced. All of the issues should be examined.

RGDATA conducted a survey on all of the shopping centres nationwide and made good recommendations. I am sure the Minister will take its recommendations into consideration. An Taisce has also made recommendations on the matter. I will not say any more.

I commend Senators Paul Coghlan, Cummins and Mullins on their introduction of the Bill. We should consider what is meant by the term "out of town", particularly when one lives in a town that is not a town or a town that is not a city but has many towns surrounding it. We also need to define who pays what and what is flexible, because policies differ nationally. How will consistency be introduced and policies be brought into line? What about deprived areas that have shopping centres where there is no charge for parking at present? We must ensure that free parking remains, although I shall not mention the locations. All of these matters must be taken into consideration. As Senator Paul Coghlan said in his speech, the details will be dealt with in future legislation. I thank the Cathaoirleach and commend the Senators on their Bill.