What will become of Irish towns when all the independent shops are closed?

Sir, – What is to become of Irish towns?I am writing to you as a fifth-generation shopkeeper. The shop I run has been in business for over 40 years, my grandfather’s shop is in the next town and has been in business for over 120 years. We employ 12 fantastically talented and hard-working women on a part-time basis. I sit here on the verge of tears after last week’s budget; duped by the offer of a reduction in employer PRSI to compensate for the gigantic hike in minimum wage, which in actuality will not support us in any way as it does not apply if you have part-time workers, as most retailers do.I personally place a tremendous amount of importance on independent shops, vibrant towns and real human interactions. The Government obviously does not. As a nation, do we think we’re too rich to be shopkeepers?READ MOREI am absolutely in support of low-paid workers getting more money in their pay packet each week, but the Government’s blindness to the detrimental effect these relentless wage hikes have on small businesses is baffling. These increases are adding to the supersonic rate at which this Government is driving us towards becoming a rip-off country that no tourist will want to visit, one in which no retail business can keep its doors open, one in which our towns have no soul.Last year hospitality (which includes McDonald’s and Starbucks) got a reduction of 4.5 per cent in their VAT rate to 9 per cent to help them absorb the spiralling costs of running a business in Ireland – all of which the retail sector also faces. Meanwhile, retail got nothing, left paying 23 per cent VAT.So where does that leave us? We have all seen the hollowing out of Irish towns across the country. I am just back from Paris where I bought a handmade hairband from a little shop, which makes its wares out the back, and came across streets and streets of independent shops that we don’t see here any more.Why does the Irish Government not care? There is no value put on what a community looks like. That our doors are always open for anyone to come in and have a chat. That we are the first place teenagers can find a job to ensure they develop the social skills needed for life. Once we have lost these retail businesses that have been around for generations there is no way to get them back.What is to become of Irish towns when all the shops are closed? – Yours, etc,AOIFE McBRIDE,Killarney,Co Kerry.