Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Heather Humphreys, spoke here on her plan for rural Ireland. I had a detailed look at the plan afterwards. If the Minister is sincere about supporting villages and country life, I call on her to consider designating a one-off business in a village, such as a pub, garage, shop or post office, as a hub for the area. Everything possible should be done to keep the designated business open. We should make a financial contribution to that business, which would be very easy to do by exempting it from rates.