I raise this issue because of a problem that has emerged for those brave men and women who are what are termed retained firefighters or part-time firefighters throughout the country.
Topical Issue Debate
I beg the Deputy's indulgence. I am taking all four of the issues today but I am awaiting a response on the Deputy's particular issue. With the permission of Deputy Ó Snodaigh and the Acting Chairman I would be obliged if I could buy some time and move on to the next issue.
I am happy to accommodate the Minister of State, if only to get a good response.
Sorry about that.
It was a dry run.
Mental Health Services
Thankfully, I came down earlier than I had expected to, otherwise there could have been another mishap. I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this issue. The situation at Toghermore House, Tuam, County Galway, has been raised as a Topical Issue before. It is a 24-hour mental health facility on the site of other mental health facilities, including a day hospital. An issue arose towards the end of last year, around 21 December, whereby a decision was made by the HSE to close the 24-hour facility due to what the HSE claimed were fire safety reasons.
A good deal of campaigning took place on the issue and, as it turned out, towards the end of January following ministerial pressure the money was set to be allocated for the facility to remain open. It is important to understand that this facility received a grant of almost €1.4 million between 2010 and 2011 for upgrading. When the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Lynch, visited the facility in 2011 she stated, "The development of this integrated campus at Toghermore brings together a range of mental health services which will undoubtedly have a hugely beneficial effect, not only on the lives of the patients, but also on the lives of their families and friends." Anyone reading that statement would have a clear understanding that Toghermore House, a 24-hour facility, is a cornerstone of mental health services in Galway and Roscommon. One can imagine the anger that many people felt when they learned this facility was going to be closed.
At the end of January the facility was kept open due to ministerial pressure. In the intervening two months money was set to have been allocated to carry out the necessary fire safety works. What money has been allocated for those works? What was the total figure required? When will these works be carried out? When will the premises be up to the required safety standards such that it can start to take in patients once again? In the past two months figures of €250,000, €300,000, €360,000 and €500,000 have been mentioned as necessary to do up Toghermore House. This is a farcical situation and although I understand how important fire safety is, it is ridiculous that this could close the facility.
Some €1.4 million was put into it, but we cannot get an estimate of the amount needed to keep it upgraded.
I understand the decision on Toghermore House will be made in the context of a review of all mental health services and 24 hour facilities in counties Galway and Roscommon. I would like to know who is on the review board and will be supplying the information. There is concern that HSE West has not been completely upfront with patients and their families or the staff of Toghermore House. When is the review due to begin? Who will undertake it? How long will it take and what are its terms of reference? We have not seen openness or transparency in the past three months.
Many of the people who use this service are in vulnerable circumstances and the continued uncertainty about the future of the facility does not help. A report was prepared only two months ago on the people concerned and the problems they were facing owing to rumours about the closure. It described one individual as becoming unstable and distressed on finding out about a potential move. Another patient was described as stable for many years in a low support facility, but the report noted that most of the hostel's residents had poor coping skills and expressed concern about the clinical risks that could arise if they were relocated.
These concerns must be addressed. Toghermore House should be maintained as a cornerstone of A Vision for Change and mental health services in Tuam. The people of Tuam and north Galway will not accept anything less. The State cannot be allowed to close a facility in which it invested €1.4 million only a few years ago. I ask the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, or the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, take a hands-on approach to receiving confirmation that the money was spent properly.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue for discussion. I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Health.
Tuam mental health service caters for the Tuam and Headford catchment areas, with a population of approximately 35,000 and a caseload in excess of 800 people. Traditionally, the service was provided at St. Brigid's Hospital in east Galway but gradually during the years community mental health services in Tuam and Headford have been developed. A report on fire safety in Toghermore House was delivered to the HSE in December 2012. It highlighted a number of shortfalls in fire safety which needed to be addressed as a priority. The assessment focused on relevant issues, including means of escape and associated signage and plans; structural fire precautions and fire equipment; coverage provided by fire alarm and emergency lighting systems; and facilities for the fire service.
A local steering group consisting of a mental health clinical director, a consultant psychiatrist, a director of nursing, an occupational therapy manager, a business manager, a team leader social worker and a patient representative was formed by the HSE and met to address the challenges outlined in the report. The steering group is liaising with residents and their families as part of the process. HSE West has implemented improved fire risk assessment and hazard identification measures. All staff and patients have been informed that appropriate actions have been taken such as a complete ban on smoking in and around the residence structure and improved observations in all areas. To mitigate immediate risks, the HSE is installing a fire alarm system and continues to have hourly fire checks. Preparatory work for the fire alarm system has now been completed and the work is being carried out with minimum disruption to the daily routine of residents.
The executive is commissioning a full review of all 24 hour residential facilities in counties Galway and Roscommon. The outcome of this review will assist in its determination of future requirements for mental health services in these geographic areas. The membership of an expert group to oversee this review is being finalised by the area manager and the executive clinical director. It is expected that the review will be completed within a 12 week period from the date of commission. It should be noted that no other mental health services in the Tuam complex or surrounding areas are affected by the fire safety issue. These facilities include the day hospital, day centre, training centre and workshop, primary care, CAMHS and out-patient and psychiatry of later life services, which continue to operate as normal. The Deputy can rest assured that the responsible Ministers will continue to closely monitor developments on this issue.
I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State when I say the Topical Issues debate becomes a farce if one Minister of State arrives into the Chamber and proceeds to read out four scripts. I received the answer he has just read from the HSE one week ago. I asked a series of questions on the cost of the fire safety works, the identities of the individuals being appointed to the review board and the terms of reference of the board. I want the relevant Ministers to take a hands on approach because we cannot spend €1.4 million in upgrading this facility only to review it two years later. This will feed into a review of all services in counties Galway and Roscommon. It has become a bigger issue. The people of these counties deserve to know what the review will entail. If a decision was taken two years ago to invest in this facility, it behoves us to find a long-term solution. I still do not know how much money has been spent on Toghermore House or when it is going to take in new patients.
I acknowledge this issue is not part of the portfolio for the Minister of State, but reading almost word for word a script I have already received from the HSE is not an acceptable way to do our business. If he does nothing else, I implore him to bring the message to the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, that we will not accept a downgrading of the facility in Toghermore House in the light of the investment made. We must provide the level of care the individuals concerned and their families deserve. It is not sufficient to consult them. They need to be told where their loved ones will be staying for the next few years. It is time for the Minister and the Minister of State to take a hands on approach to securing Toghermore House for the future.
I agree with the Deputy that it is farcical for one Minister of State to respond to four issues. However, I know the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Reilly, would engage directly with him on his questions about who is on the steering group and the details of costs and timelines. I note, however, that the patients are represented on the group and, if the process is working properly, it should address the needs of patients and their families. I tend to agree with the Deputy on the issue. I have had similar experiences in my own area and ensured the regional director of operations was answerable to me on any issue arising. I recognise that it is important to raise these issues in the House and apologise to the Deputy for my lack of intimate knowledge of them.
Part-Time Firefighters
A problem has emerged for the brave men and women who are retained as part-time firefighters. These individuals were trained at a cost to the State and their local authority of nearly €30,000. They volunteer to be on stand by on a 24 hour basis for up to six days at a time, which makes it difficult for them to organise their lives. Their compensation for being on call amounts to approximately €8,000 per annum. The amounts may vary slightly by local authority, but they are around that figure.
One individual who came to me has been denied jobseeker's allowance because he is a firefighter and is on call by rotation. That rotation requires him to be within a short distance of the fire station at all times when on call, which means he must be no more than five minutes away from the station. If the person is employed, he or she must be able to leave that employment and rush down to the station. They must respond to the emergency when their bleepers go off. If we did not have these men and women around the country, the emergency response to fires, road and farm accidents and other emergencies would not be adequate. Our emergency services would collapse without these workers and we would see increased fatalities in fires and road accidents.
Ideally, the country, North and South, should be covered by a full-time firefighting service under a single authority and one fire chief. There would be significant savings involved if we reduced the number of fire chiefs to one, from the 30 or so existing fire chiefs. We could also reduce the number of assistant fire chiefs. The savings achieved could be retained and invested in building up the full-time service. However, in the meantime we are dependent on our full-time crews and the retained and volunteer crews.
The individual I mentioned, Gavin Burns, is attached to Dundalk fire station. I believe the Department of Social Protection is behaving obnoxiously in refusing him jobseeker's allowance for the period of time he is not in employment. Basically, he is a casual or part-time worker, as are up to 90,000 people in similar situations in other employment. The Department has argued that he is not available for work and that he is putting up too many barriers to finding work. I believe the Department has not taken into account his role or the role played by other similar people who have been refused part-payment of jobseeker's allowance. He moved from Carlingford to Dundalk to be closer to job opportunities and to be closer to the fire station. However, that was not taken into account. It was also unreasonable of the Department of Social Protection to demand that he give up his retained firefighter role to allow him to apply for full-time work. He is applying for full-time work anyway, including making applications to the likes of Aer Rianta, where his skills could be put to good use. His only source of income currently is the €8,000 he receives as a retained firefighter. Like many other people in the country, he has tried to get work and he is staying with relatives and friends in order to save money so that he is available for his emergency work.
Is it a new condition for part-time and casual workers that they must give up their work and enjoy the luxury of being full-time on the dole? That is unreasonable, and I hope it is not the case as it would cost the Department a fortune. Just imagine how much it would cost to pay the 80,000 or 90,000 casual or part-time workers if they were shifted onto full-time dole. I do not believe that is a direction the State wants to take. I hope people such as Gavin Burns, other retained firefighters and other workers will be accommodated by the part-time or casual worker mechanism within the jobseeker's allowance. Other workers such as dock workers, forestry workers and fishermen are accommodated, given the importance of their jobs. Why are conditions different for retained firefighters? At least, in Dundalk they are seen as different.
I thank the Deputy for his earlier forbearance. I have now been provided with a reply from the Minister of Social Protection, who is out of the country at this time.
Social welfare legislation provides that a person must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work in order to be entitled to a jobseeker's payment. Any person who fails to satisfy these conditions on an ongoing basis is not entitled to such payment. Obviously, to be fair to the gentleman mentioned by the Deputy, that does not apply in his case.
Unlike other jobseekers, who must sign off the live register on any day on which they find work, part-time firefighters are paid a jobseeker's payment in respect of days on which they are engaged in firefighting or training. They are, however, required to satisfy other statutory conditions for the receipt of a jobseeker's payment - that is, they must continue to be available for and genuinely seeking work. In this respect, deciding officers do not treat them differently from any other jobseeker. I accept the point the Deputy has made in this regard, but I do not have the full details of the case to hand.
With regard to dealing with the systemic issue, I am familiar with the problems. In my area of Cork we have part-time firefighters and similar circumstances apply. Given the vagaries of this type of employment, issues relating to the eligibility of firefighters for jobseeker's payments have been raised with the Department of Social Protection on numerous occasions over the years. Taking account of the unusual circumstances of these workers and general efforts to develop and standardise the jobseeker schemes, a group was established in the Department to examine the position of firefighters. While the work of this group is largely completed, issues relating to firefighters remain under consideration in the Department. Key to these considerations will be recognition of the very valuable service this group of workers provide to their local communities. However, it is also important that the integrity of the jobseeker scheme is maintained. Achieving a balance in this regard will include recognising the important service these workers provide and the contribution they make to the safety of communities across the country.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply and the clarification he has given. I hope Gavin Burns and any other firefighter who has been refused jobseeker's payments will be able to use this reply to show deciding officers they are wrong to exclude them if they are genuinely seeking work. Mr. Burns has been genuinely seeking work. In one case he lost out on a job placement because he was not in receipt of a social welfare payment and Garda clearance did not come through on time. There are anomalies in this regard, and I hope the departmental group will conclude its work quickly. Mr. Burns was aware the group was considering the situation and had hoped it would deal with his issues.
The Minister has accepted that exceptions can be made in the case of firefighters and other part-time workers who are vital to protect and support our communities in times of distress such as fires. Hopefully, in this case, the Department will understand the intention of the Minister to allow part-time or retained firefighters to avail of jobseeker's allowance while not in full-time employment. Obviously, one would wish for all of them to have full-time employment and for their employers or prospective employers to take into account their firefighting requirements and allow them provide that service to their country and communities.
Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It would do no harm were the Deputy to refer the case of Gavin Burns to the Minister for reference as part of the ongoing review process.
Tallaght Hospital Patient X-rays
I am grateful for the selection of this important issue for discussion. Deputy Connaughton raised a point earlier which was graciously accepted by the Minister of State and which is important to put on the record. This Topical Issue debate has become an important part of the minimalist Dáil reform we have seen. The Whips and members of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges have expressed concern in recent times that Ministers do not appear to deal with the issues. I agree this is an exceptional week - the Cabinet benches have become like the deck of the Mary Celeste as the week has gone on - and that it is appropriate for Ministers to be out of the country this week. However, I hope what we have seen happen in recent weeks does not become a trend.
We learned yesterday that Dublin's Tallaght hospital has a backlog of approximately 6,000 reports on X-rays and other scans, reports that have yet to be provided to doctors who referred patients for checks. The problem relates to delays in typing these radiological reports.
These cases involve X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans and ultrasound scans that have been read by specialists. The results have been dictated onto tapes but they have not been circulated to the referring medical practitioners. The excellent CEO of the hospital, Eilish Hardiman, has said that no risk to patient safety arises from these delays. She has said that when the standard turnaround time is taken into account, the current delay in typing up reports is two or three weeks. We discovered yesterday that an internal memo circulated in the hospital's radiology department warned that the backlog might put patients at continued medical risk as a result of the failure to transmit findings to the referring doctors. Furthermore, the memo claims that this problem was highlighted to senior hospital management up to four months ago, but attempts to tackle the backlog did not succeed.
As we know, this is sadly not the first time there has been a controversy regarding X-rays at Tallaght hospital. An independent report was produced after it was discovered in 2009 that 57,000 X-rays had not been read and thousands of referral letters had not been opened. Following the publication of the report, we were assured that problems of this nature would not recur. It appears fairly evident to me that difficulties are arising at the hospital as a result of chronic staff shortages. When health service issues are debated, the importance of front-line staff is often mentioned because it cannot be questioned. However, derisory comments are often made about those who work in the administrative and clerical departments of our hospitals. This controversy should remind us how important it is to provide the necessary level of support staff, including administrators and clerical assistants. This appears to be a difficulty at present. I hope the Minister, Deputy Reilly, having waxed lyrical on previous crises in this hospital, will turn his attention to this crisis with a view to finding a resolution as a matter of considerable urgency.
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the typing and issuing of transcripts of X-ray reports. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health. It is important to assure people attending the radiology unit at Tallaght hospital that there is no risk to patient safety. Urgent and prioritised reports in the emergency department and the paediatric radiology unit are produced within 24 hours. Tallaght hospital has in place a documented clinical governance process for radiologists, the doctors who examine x-rays. Urgent cases and cases in need of time-sensitive clinical decisions are flagged in advance by clinicians for immediate reporting. Critical or urgent findings are immediately brought to the attention of the referring doctors and the clerical staff who transcribe and send the report immediately.
An average of 15,000 reports are typed at Tallaght hospital each month. Standard non-urgent reports are usually produced within two or three weeks. The number of reports that need to be typed has increased due to initiatives to improve access to imaging. More patients are receiving radiography examinations in Tallaght because of higher productivity and better facilities. For example, a second CT scanner was opened in December 2012. An initiative with Naas General Hospital reduced the MRI waiting list by 16% in 16 weeks. Some 6,000 examinations, or 3.5% of the annual total of 172,000, are currently untyped. Some 3,000 of these untyped reports relate to patients who attended routine outpatient imaging. They have been reported through an initiative with additional consultant resources. The remaining untyped examinations date from 12 February last to the current day. As the standard turnaround time for routine reports is two to three weeks, these tapes are currently delayed by a further two or three weeks.
The radiology department, the diagnostic directorate and the executive team are taking a number of steps to address this issue. Additional clerical support is being provided in the radiology unit to assist with the typing of tapes. It is intended that the backlog will be cleared in approximately five weeks. The hospital has initiated demand management protocols within national guidelines to avoid the need for reports on specific images such as orthopaedics. An integrated voice recognition system that was piloted last year will be introduced from early April. This will eliminate the need to type transcripts for approximately 65% of the radiology workload. It is expected that voice recognition for all reporting in Tallaght will be fully implemented by the first quarter of 2014 as part of the roll-out of the national integrated medical imaging system. This will eliminate the need to transcribe radiology reports.
I welcome much of the positive content in the Minister of State's reply. I reiterate that an internal memo in the radiology department has pointed to the possibility of some medical risk. We are all committed to ensuring medical risk is reduced in all circumstances. I am sure the Minister of State shares that commitment. Aside from the issue of medical risk, it must be pointed out that delays of two, three, four or five weeks also place considerable pressure on patients awaiting the results of MRI scans or X-rays. This problem has many repercussions from a human point of view. It is symptomatic of the larger staffing problem in Tallaght hospital, particularly in the accident and emergency department. My attention was brought to this matter at the weekend when I met a friend who works as a nurse in the hospital. I ask the Minister of State to highlight this issue with his colleagues at Minister of State level and with the Minister for Health. The accident and emergency department in Tallaght hospital is facing inordinate staffing pressure. Nursing staff, in particular, are working up to 80 hours a week because they are under intense pressure to work extraordinary levels of overtime to ensure the necessary services are provided. This issue must be of concern to everyone in this House. I am sure it is of concern to management personnel at the hospital, whom I salute for doing their best in difficult circumstances. I hope the Minister of State will take up this matter with the Minister for Health.
I will do so. I acknowledge everything that has been said.
Commercial Rates Issues
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me an opportunity to raise this issue in the presence of the Minister of State. Finglas village is on its knees. It has two large retail centres on its outskirts, one to the north of the village and one to the south. There are many vacant units in Finglas village centre, which is struggling to compete with the two out-of-town centres I have mentioned. Along with my Labour Party colleague, Councillor John Redmond, I have been fighting to protect the village by keeping the post office open and opposing inappropriate developments such as arcades and slot-machine venues. We also have been considering ways to revitalise the village. The local tidy towns committee and the Friends of Finglas Village group are doing Trojan work in their own time to support ways of ensuring the village remains a vibrant place. Finglas is just one of many villages and towns in Ireland that have multiple vacant units. This problem is replicated throughout the country where local communities are contending with the challenges posed by out-of-town centres, which are able to grab more attention.
In the short time available to me, I will speak about the idea of adjusting commercial rates to support retail centres in towns and villages. I appreciate that valuation and planning issues arise in this context. I believe rates should be aligned to incentivise development in core areas; this would be in keeping with the planning guidelines. I also believe it is worth considering the temporary imposition of a large retail levy on massive out-of-town developments. Both of these measures could strengthen local government and increase accountability. With some exceptions, rates are currently applied evenly regardless of the location of the business. While councils have made huge efforts in recent years to reduce rates, this approach is indiscriminate of factors affecting retailers such as accessibility and the amount of parking that is available. Businesses create their own effects. Large out-of-town retailers draw customers from town centres. This was not really an issue during the good times.
However, many of the existing out-of-town developments were built at a time when we had a fast-growing economy and the pie was getting bigger. In the far more competitive economy of today, the advantages the larger out-of-town retailers enjoy have multiplied even more. These competitive advantages are directly impacting on towns such as Finglas, Naas and Ballinrobe, to give just three examples. The knock-on effect is that this is threatening jobs and undermining our planning policies.
I believe councils should set their own rates according to location, giving reduced rates to those in core areas and setting increased rates for outer areas. While it would be up to each council to do this based on local circumstances, I believe it is workable and cost neutral. Consideration could also be given to putting a levy on very large shopping centres in out-of-town locations. For example, in Northern Ireland a three-year large retail levy was introduced on big out-of-town retailers. This levy could be used in conjunction with a revised rates scheme or a stand-alone levy, both of which are worthy of consideration.
This principle has already been established within the new development contribution guidelines, which require local authorities to apply lower contribution charges for developments in town centres and higher ones for out-of-town centres. Furthermore, the Putting People First local government reform document will allow councils to adjust local property tax in certain areas. With a differential rates scheme, which is what I am proposing today, councils and councillors would be able to set commercial rates in their own areas and align them to a policy that would be in alignment with planning policy, thereby enhancing local government reform.
In a nutshell, the current planning guidelines state that towns and villages are at the core of our retail objectives yet our rates scheme does not represent this in any way. We provide the same rates scheme to large out-of-town retailers as to those who are within our planning guidelines in towns and villages. If we really want to promote and enshrine our planning guidelines, which state that locations such as Finglas village or Naas are key retail centres, we must have our rates scheme reflect that. At present, it does not do so. I welcome that our development contribution guidelines have changed to match our planning guidelines. The only piece that is missing in the cake in terms of changing the regulations to be in accordance with our planning guidelines is our differential rates.
If we truly want to bring lifeblood and activity into towns and villages which are genuinely struggling, we need to change our rates scheme to reflect that. The reality is that those retailers which are out of town are in a position to pay higher rates given they have huge car parking space and customers go to these centres for a variety of reasons. If we genuinely care about our towns and villages, we must have some sort of a differential rates scheme which reflects this.
While these large out-of-town retailers of course supply jobs, the businesses in our towns and villages do the same. The big difference is that the majority of retailers in our towns and villages are businesses owned by local people, providing local jobs and buying local produce, which is then sold on further. I hope the Minister of State will take on board my suggestions. While I am conscious it is not his direct departmental responsibility, I look forward to his response.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan.
Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Act 2001. Any of us who have served on local authorities would acknowledge the point Deputy Lyons has made in this regard. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority. The annual rate on valuation, ARV, which is applied to the valuation of each property, determined by the Valuation Office, to obtain the amount payable in rates, is decided by the elected members of each local authority in the annual budget and its determination is a reserved function.
The Government has no plans at this juncture to introduce a temporary levy on large out-of-town retail operations. In terms of planning policy, the Minister, Deputy Hogan, and the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, published new development contribution guidelines in January 2012. The new guidelines build on the experience gained in recent years and also align development contribution policy with the Government's prioritisation of employment creation, investment and sustainable development, a point the Deputy addressed in his contribution. Above all, the guidelines are intended to support proper planning and sustainable development while also prioritising job creation and economic investment.
All in this House, across the political spectrum, are aware of the pressures on small and medium enterprises and intergenerational businesses in places like Naas and Finglas, to which the Deputy referred. In that context, local authorities have been asked by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, by way of a circular letter, to exercise restraint or, where possible, reduce commercial rates and local charges for 2013. Local authorities have responded well to such requests in recent years and, in 2013, 87 out of the 88 rating authorities have either reduced their ARV or kept it the same as in 2012.
The Deputy referred to the Government's action programme for effective local government, Putting People First. This indicated that, in the context of reorganisation of local governance structures, the proposed new municipal districts will provide an opportunity to achieve a more coherent approach to rates and charges on a county-wide basis, having regard to funding requirements and the need to support employment and business competitiveness. To be honest, I do not know how that dynamic will work in Finglas and it is probably easier to map that potential in terms of counties such as Cork, where there are distinct municipal areas that do not border on a large metropolitan area. It will be a challenge, and I acknowledge the Deputy's point in this regard. The action programme proposes rates harmonisation to cater for differences between ARVs of towns and counties. The Minister's approach to rates harmonisation will seek to ensure, on the one hand, that harmonisation does not lead to significant net loss of revenue in individual counties, with consequential implications for services, and, on the other hand, that increases in rates do not impact negatively on businesses and employment.
The Minister has informed me that he will continue to keep the approach to rates by local authorities under active review and that he is determined every avenue will be pursued to optimise efficiency and contain costs in the local government sector.
I thank the Minister of State. To be fair, the response is reasonably positive in that there is some light at the end of tunnel and this issue may be reviewed. To give some anecdotal evidence, in a village that has more vacant than occupied units, and in an economy that is just beginning to turn around, two local men in Finglas recently opened up a Four Start Pizza shop with an attached Subway branch. They have only opened the shop since Christmas but as they had the premises before Christmas, their rates were approximately €9,000 for last year, even though they were not even up and running. They are competing with a large supermarket that sells anything from a light bulb to a banana to a computer and everything in between, and this supermarket has plenty of parking spaces, which, to be fair, it would have paid for through development contributions. These two local people are trying to meet our challenge of creating jobs and being innovative, and have set up a business to do so, but they are in an area of the village that is falling on its knees.
This story is replicated in every county. One can drive through the towns from Dublin to Cork, which I and the Minister of State know well, and see that units are closing down because they just cannot afford rates and other charges. At the same time, just outside the towns we can visit large retail units which are thriving because more people can go there, they have no parking issues and so on.
I welcome the fact the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has said he will keep an eye on this issue. However, if we are serious about bringing life back into our villages and towns, whether they are urban or rural, we have to look at the amount of rates we charge.
Those who can pay more should pay more and those who cannot pay as much should not pay as much. This is the way to do things under the principle of fairness. If we want to keep our villages alive and bring life to somewhere like Finglas, we must look at the rates we charge. Surely somebody who operates a branch of Four Star Pizza in a village that is on its knees should not have to pay the same rates as a retail outlet outside the town with multiple parking and significant advantages. That is one anecdotal example. I thank the Minister of State for his response. It was reasonably positive and there was some light at the end of the tunnel.
I am getting a bit peckish thinking of Four Star Pizza. It is a long way to Cork. I might pop in. On a serious note, I concur with what the Deputy is saying. We are seeing that effect throughout the landscape. There are factors other than rates influencing that dynamic. The Deputy is right about out-of-town multiples being able to house all products across a broad spectrum, which is certainly having an effect on smaller towns and villages.
Smaller towns and villages must be creative because consumption has modified considerably. Conspicuous consumption has virtually flat-lined and we might have to be more creative about how we re-imagine town centres and villages. I take the point the Deputy is making.