Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

First, I want to speak to the issue of the universal social charge. As many TDs have said, this was a temporary measure that was brought in at a time there was a call on people who were working to try to save this country. We have gone on too long taking this money and need to put a stop to this unworkable charge on people's earnings. It does not bear any resemblance to fairness any more. Working people have paid their due for the folly of others and it is time that we put a plan in place to phase out the USC completely.

We need a policy to finish that tax. These people have paid enough.

I met a man at his door while canvassing yesterday. He spoke with a slight bitterness about the fact that he was still working and doing everything right but still could not access grants for his children, who are going to college. He and his wife have to work to pay for their mortgage. He mentioned all of these kinds of things. He said that the one-off payments he gets are like giving a sweet to a child. It is not doing anything for the working person. It is important that we show respect to the working person.

We have submitted an amendment, which we will not get to, in respect of VAT. I have spoken to many people in small industries in my constituency of Galway East. I am fearful that they are looking at an opt-out clause to get out of business. They feel that to have a business and to keep a coffee shop or whatever else going is costing them far more than they can earn. One of the things they said to me was that they can get a grant or a top-up, like the €4,000, which as I mentioned earlier is not available to everybody, and that needs to be addressed. Those people are paying rates that are not based on profit or anything other than the size of the floor area of their building. That is penal. These small businesses, including butchers, bakeries, hairdressers and all the other businesses, may not be huge employers but they employ many people across this country and give employment to young people when they are going to college. They train people and give them personal skills that nobody else can give them. Yet we are using small businesses again and not giving them the respect they need. Some of them will leave the market. One young businessman, who has been in business for five years, told me that if he knew then what he knows now about trying to run a business, he would never have started it.

The minimum wage is something that governments announce to suggest they are giving something to people. When they announce an increase in the minimum wage, everybody else who is working in a business must get a lift to his or her wages. It is costing a fortune to keep that going.

There are many things we need to do but we do not have enough time to talk about them today. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her patience.

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