'No plan for rural businesses in Ireland' says Tipperary South General Election candidate

Small businesses in the hospitality sector like pubs have been hit hard and many are struggling to keep their doors open, as a result many would like to see the VAT rate decreased from 13.5% back to 9%. 

While Independent Ireland candidate Nadaline Webster made her way around Clonmel she spoke to local businesses and asked what issues they're facing in the town. 

Shop closures in Clonmel were a huge issue when canvassing the town, Nadaline said. “There’s an awful lot of closures in Clonmel, it’s clear there are issues here. I wasn’t able to find out and the shop owners didn’t know either, what the rationale behind the rate increase even is. I’m really struggling to understand any kind of connected plan at all, for small businesses in rural Ireland.

"Michael Fitzmaurice from Independent Ireland requested a reduction in VAT rates for hospitality two weeks before the budget. At that time the government said no. After the election is announced they say you can have it within a hundred days if we get reelected, but otherwise no. Of course that’s not any kind of guarantee. This is not how we should be making decisions about things in this country.”

Nadaline also spoke with many pub owners during her canvassing and they said “pubs and hotels are actually excluded from the conversation about the reduced VAT rates.” which she was not aware of.

Nadaline said “I have great difficulty in ascertaining the actual reason for that taking place, for that exclusion. Simon Harris was visiting Cashel while I was canvassing and he spoke to the same pub owners I was speaking to and he said he’s going to give them a PRSI reduction on up to 10 employees."

Nadaline said the current government were making "policy and power driven decisions and we see the impact of that in every town in rural Ireland. I’d like to see someone from the county council address the specifics and the justification for increasing the rates at a time when the town is clearly struggling. There’s massive costs of living I don’t understand the rationale and justification for decisions being made.

"If there’s a reason why a particular group, for example hospitality, should get a reduced rate, then that reduced rate should be implemented. If there’s not a reason for a reduced rate or there’s a reason why we could do something different that would be more beneficial and ultimately more helpful to that sector then we should do that instead."