Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to come back in on a number of things. Senator Casey has made an important point. Many smaller shops do not know this debate is going on today. In fairness, we have all seen the contact from the larger organised shops but this will affect the smaller ones most, as has been said by every Member in this House today. That is a significant point. As Senator Casey said, I hope they are listening but they probably are not. The Minister of State said something striking, which is that this will be new to them. We are introducing something new at their worst time, when they are on their knees. These people are telling the employees they cannot employ them anymore. They are putting them on payments.

As has been said by every Member in the House, they are more likely not to open up again. We are going to introduce a new tax - essentially a tourist tax - on them. It beggars belief this is happening at a time when we should be supporting them. I acknowledge we have supported them and what the Government has done in supporting them to this point but this is an opportunity. Opportunity knocks here with regard to the UK visitors. That is my opinion and it has been said by every Member of this House. We cannot understand why the Government would impose a tax like this on those who need so much help at this time. It defies logic.

While I mean no offence to the Minister of State, when listening to this debate, the most important thing for me is that he still has not explained where the €75 came from. He still has not come up with a logical explanation as to why somebody opted for that figure. He told us the original figure of €175 was the maximum, so we started off with the maximum and then, somewhere in the Revenue Commissioners or wherever, somebody picked €75 out of a hat. That is what it seems like this morning, because there is no logic as to how we came up with it.

I have spoken, as have other Members of the House, to people in the industry who are looking for figures at this stage. They have come up with €50 and €35. Senator Casey has come up with €1 and I believe our Sinn Féin colleagues have come up with a threshold of zero at this stage. It is because we all want to do the right thing here. We all want to support those who need our support at this time. This is about those craft industries and artists we hear about in the media every day of the week who are under great pressure. As has been said already by me and others, the artists who are in these craft shops probably do not know this debate is taking place and will look in horror at what is happening.

Can the Minister of State explain to us why €75 was chosen? Why not zero? As Senator Chambers said, why not leave this threshold at zero and review it after a year? I am sure we all could come back after a year and say there was a huge cost to the Revenue Commissioners, as well as huge administration and time costs, and then we could debate that. I ask the Minister of State, however, to please reconsider. He should talk to the Minister and come back with something better than €75.