Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

Whether it is a franchise or a small independent business, there are hardworking, decent people running these places too. They employ PAYE workers too. I will stand in any of these cafés, restaurants or rural pubs that serve food and say to people that the reduction we have brought about from July on VAT is a reduction in the cost base of that business. At a time of real pressure, reducing costs on business is good. We can disagree on that point and agree on a broader point. There is a need to have broader engagement with wider society and representative groups on how we get ourselves through this moment of challenge. I found, and I certainly do not mean they were not tough on us or that they agree with us on everything, that the engagement we had with ICTU, IBEC and members of the LEEF to be very good.
What we need to do is have a much more intensive process now to engage with workers, their representatives and business representative bodies in the weeks ahead.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23