Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was a student in University College Dublin when Niamh Bhreathnach was the then Minister for Education. I remember there was a blind student who could not get her books in braille and Niamh Bhreathnach landed out to the college unannounced and, needless to say, the problem was resolved. The woman was a doer. May she rest in peace.

I rise today because it has been brought to my attention that Visa interchange fees have gone up by almost 1,000%. At a time when the Government is encouraging businesses to operate on a cashless basis and to embrace technology, charges for businesses on the Visa debit card, which is the most common card, have gone from 0.1% to 1% in the space of a year. This is not fair or acceptable. At a time when the costs on businesses are so extraordinary and so challenging, the Government must intervene with Visa and find out what is going on and get the fees reversed. Some businesses have a high turnover, particularly those selling do-it-yourself and construction products, but are on a very small margin. This charge is having an impact on such businesses. I have written to the Minister of Finance and have not yet received a reply. I have no doubt I will receive one, but perhaps the Acting Leader might raise this issue with him on behalf of the thousands of businesses that provide and have no choice but to provide Visa debit services to their customers.

The situation with drones in Dublin Airport is comical at this stage. Every other country seems to have protocols. In France, the United Kingdom and other countries the police services and army deal with the drones. If emergency legislation is required to deal with the situation in Dublin Airport, it needs to be introduced. Ireland is an outlier in Europe in many respects, but we are an outlier when it comes to dealing with these types of situations.