Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Patrick O'Donovan (FG), Limerick County

I will go back to a comment I made earlier about Deputy Healy-Rae. We agree on most things but we do not agree on this. Support for Ukraine is something that we have to do, to be honest about it. We cannot have a situation where a country's territorial sovereignty is illegally invaded by a state like Russia and we do not support it. Most people would agree and I know that deep down, Deputy Healy-Rae agrees. We have to support them. Their lives have been made an utter and absolute misery by a state that has no regard for international law.
I do agree with the Deputy with regard to small businesses and increased costs. That is why the Minister for enterprise, Deputy Burke, has now insisted that any memorandum being brought to Government, with regard to any great idea any of the 15 of us might have, must pass the small business test in order to ensure that we keep costs to businesses down. In the Deputy's local town of Killarney, which I know well, and in Kenmare I am sure they welcomed the reduction of VAT in the budget. That has sustained thousands of jobs all over the country. I know some others on the Opposition benches do not agree with it but I agree with, as does Deputy Healy-Rae, because it sustains thousands of jobs in towns like Killarney.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11