Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State spoke about hoteliers and the hospitality sector. In Donegal and rural areas throughout the west of Ireland, the sector the Minister of State would claim to champion and laud is outraged that the Government has increased its rate of VAT from 9.5% to 13.5%. The Government is treating a hotel in the top of Donegal or the west of Mayo the same as a hotel in Dublin. It treats a hairdresser on Grafton Street exactly the same as a hairdresser on the main street of Milford or Ballina. Why has it done that?The Government is using the hospitality sector to impose a tax that is not progressive, VAT being applicable to everybody in the same way. Everywhere it turns, the Government does not have friends. It is a foolish policy and the Government needs to address it.

In regard to this recommendation, our position is that the very wealthiest section of our society - we are talking about people earning more than €140,000 per year - can afford to pay a bit more to alleviate the crisis in the health system, in housing, the evidence of which we see in this city tonight, in childcare and so on.