Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil léi as ucht an Bhille seo. In welcoming this Bill and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, I first of all compliment the Minister on her common sense approach to Brexit. I ask some of our parliamentary colleagues across the water to pay attention to some of what the Minister has said about a number of issues relating to Brexit because she has struck a chord with regard to the importance of an all-Ireland approach to Brexit. I commend her for that. We have not had the Minister here for a while because she has been busy but she will be back with other legislation. I welcome the Minister and this Bill.

It is most welcome legislation and as Senator Reilly said, it has two parts. One is ensuring that we all spend and use the voucher and the other is ensuring a common sense approach to the regulation of gift vouchers. I welcome the Minister's dedication to this legislation. When she became Minister, she set about doing this work. I know she has set aside some other issues which is understandable given the complexities of the situation. For some of us, five years may be a bit too little and we may like to see ten years or more. I understand where the Minister is coming from. I know that we cannot do it retrospectively but it is a pity that we could not since in every household in the country, vouchers and gift cards lie idle. I am guilty myself. This legislation ensures that a balance is struck between the needs of business and the consumer.

Before this legislation was introduced, the Minister helped to educate people, including consumers, to be able to redeem the voucher and addressed the need for regulation. I ask that she continues, through the use of advertising by her Department, to promote and educate people about this legislation. It is a winner for the consumer. Many people are not informed. We could go into shops with, for argument's sake, a €50 voucher and be told that we have to spend it all at once. We might go into other shops where one can keep a portion of the card. It is important to regulate vouchers. As the Minister said in her speech, and Senator O'Mahony also referred to it, €600 million is a sizable chunk of change in our retail economy. There is a need for regulation and for clarity and certainty for the consumer.

I digress to talk about the matter of the retail business itself, which is under savage pressure from e-business and online sales. I know we have seen some reduction in some of the retail activity on the high street. The struggle we see in the city of Cork, for example, is linked to a number of issues. I hope that we recognise that face-to-face spending has dropped. There is now an ongoing battle that we must address as a new generation of legislators at parliamentary, city and council level, with those charged with managing our local authorities, and our business partners in large urban towns and cities. We have to look at how we can tackle e-commerce and spending on it, which has increased by almost 10%. The migration to online activity is happening at a rate which is perhaps faster than what was envisaged.

There will come a time when we, as parliamentarians, may be asking what the future for our cities and towns is. I hope that the Government will look at a cross-departmental approach to how we can, with local authorities and business leaders, whether chambers of commerce or business associations, work to challenge each other in making our cities the place to be. I specifically refer to the city of Cork from which I come. We must ensure that the island of Cork city does not become a ghost city. We must have an attractive proposition for people through the building of park and ride facilities and through parking regime ameliorations for customers. I hope that we can, through the Minister or whoever the lead Minister will be, have a multi-departmental approach. I am fearful for our large urban towns. If we do not tackle the issue of online and e-sales, then we will concede the battleground.That is, in part, a matter for retailers themselves. An overarching approach can be taken by the local authorities, Government and business leaders.

I commend the Minister for the Bill. I thank her for being here today. I commend her for the work she is doing to ensure that in her Department the Red Cow and the M50 are not the end of Ireland. She has been very progressive and worked hard to attract businesses and jobs to places outside of Dublin, which she has done quite successfully, especially in the city and county of Cork where I am from. I thank her for that and for her courtesy and that of her officials when we meet them about issues around employment. It is important we ensure the spread of jobs around the country. I am very happy that the Minister understands that and works very hard to ensure it. Today is a good day for the consumers of Ireland. I hope the Minister's views on Brexit are heard across the water in the House of Commons and by those who do not understand the importance of Brexit and what a hard border will mean to us in terms of retail, business, farming and tourism.

I thank the Minister again.