Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have raised many times the challenges facing small businesses as a result of the increased cost of doing business, inflation and cost-of-living pressures. Unfortunately, this is very relevant in the food sector. Between January and April, there were more than 200 closures of small restaurants and cafés. It is not confined to that sector. Food is vital to the pub industry, accounting for 35%, on average, of pub turnover. In some cases, the figure is as high as 50%. I very much support the call made by pubs that the Government, in its upcoming budget, reduce the VAT rate from 13.5% to 9%, which, in fairness, the Government did previously during the pandemic.

On the cost of living and inflation, I was talking to a restaurateur recently who put this in context for me. He outlined that before the war in Ukraine started, a bucket of Hellmann's mayonnaise cost something like €22. That same bucket now costs €44. That puts the matter in perspective. Every restaurant uses that product in preparing food. These small businesses are vitally important to our small towns and villages. They are the heartbeat of our towns and villages. It is crucial that we keep them alive. The Government must be conscious at all times of the increases it implements and the effect these have on business. We saw that in the case of the increase in the minimum wage, which is very welcome. We saw it with auto enrolment and the additional costs involved in that as well as the introduction of additional sick leave entitlements. That all has an effect on business but particularly small business. The Government needs to be very conscious of that. I would be grateful if the Leader could arrange a debate with the Minister in the context of the upcoming budget in September or October so that we can support the call for the VAT rate in the food industry to be reduced from the current rate of 13.5% to 9%.