I join colleagues in thanking Martin Groves and the staff of the Seanad office for all the assistance they have given us in recent months.

Budget time is approaching. There is going to be a lot of discussion of Estimates in the coming months and the Government will be trying to frame a budget that will keep our economic prosperity on track. There is one issue about which we need to have a fundamental conversation, namely, VAT. As we know, the 9% VAT rate is very good for tourism and I sincerely hope it continues. I would like a 9% rate to be introduced in other areas in order to stimulate other parts of the economy.

I would also like to see the Government examine the threshold at which a self-employed individual has to register for VAT. At the moment, a self-employed plumber, carpenter or other person providing services has to register for VAT if their turnover is €37,500 or more. This needs to be revised upwards. The figure of €37,500 is around €600 a week. I think it is unreasonable and unfair. It creates considerable red tape and also encourages people to operate in the black market. They do so to keep their figure down and avoid incurring the various costs associated with having to register for VAT. In a modern, developing and growing economy, we should increase the threshold to €50,000. Even at that, it is not a significant jump. It would help people regularise their affairs, reduce red tape and certainly would encourage people not to operate 20% or 30% of their business on a cash basis in the black market. People might be of the view that it is not of pressing importance but given that we are trying to encourage craftsmen and tradesmen to come back from abroad and set up businesses here, we need to put a suite of incentives in place. I am calling on the Minister for Finance to seriously consider this over the coming months. I ask the Leader to write to the Minister expressing this view, which has been articulated on the Order of Business in the Seanad.

I wish my colleagues a very pleasant summer break. To those who are watching and listening to our deliberations, I encourage them to swim in designated areas where there are lifeguards and to be careful because we do not want any tragedies over the summer. We have had too many of them. I thank colleagues for their courtesy and support.