Hospitality workers from Carlow, Kilkenny and across the country are set to descend on Dublin to highlight what they say is the unsustainable cost of doing business and the lack of meaningful support provided by the Government in Budget 2025.
Organisers say they will march to the Dáil this afternoon in protest, gathering from 1pm in the Capital.
The Restaurants Association of Ireland say over 700 restaurants, cafés and food businesses have been forced to close their doors in less than a year due to a hike in VAT rates.
Many have been for months calling for the VAT rate to be cut to 9%, however the Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe says this will cost hundreds of millions of euro, noting; “The Budget already does contain measures to help support small and medium sized businesses, the decisions that were made in relation to VAT thresholds to help businesses with cash flow at a time in which we know that cashflow concerns are important to small and medium sized businesses, it contains the grant of up to €4,000 to help businesses later on in the year”.
KCLR News has been catching up with Colin Rea of Bagenalstown Chamber, Colin Ahern of the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel and local man Pat Crotty who is Chief Executive of the Vintner’s Federation of Ireland (VFI);
