Everyone in this House is aware of what has occurred in respect of flooding in the past ten days. We have a major problem in that an awful lot of premises, both commercial and private, cannot get insurance cover. I am looking for the establishment of a centralised fund for properties where the owners cannot get damage cover due to flooding. It would be similar to the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland fund. That fund means that where someone is injured as the result of an accident, he or she can claim against the Mot…

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. We are in a situation where flood relief programmes have been put in place and property owners are still having difficulty in getting flood insurance cover. The Minister of State might ask why they need it, but they need it because if one is drawing down a loan or mortgage from a bank, the bank will look for that insurance. The same is true with householders and this is one of the difficulties that lending institutions will start raising. There is no guaran…

In August of this year, the Taoiseach was in Sarsfields Hurling Club and saw the facilities it has available. Over the past few days, over €500,000 worth of damage has been done as a result of flooding. At the same time, there is an organisation which has received the lease of over 30 acres from Cork County Council. Those 30 acres have not been used for the past ten years. Will the Government now apply pressure on that organisation to lease that land back to Cork County Council in order that it can be made availabl…

Will the Minister confirm the number of students who will benefit from measures in budget 2024 aimed at those in further and higher education, particularly in the area of apprenticeships?

There is a substantial amount available to increase the number of apprenticeships in various areas. The Minister now needs to look at increasing the number of places in our third level institutions for key areas such as healthcare and others. Taking dentistry as an example, in some colleges up to 50% of the places are taken by students from abroad because the colleges are trying to get money in. How can the number of places in universities be increased rather than them being reliant on students coming from abroad t…

Is there enough joined-up thinking between education and placement in workplaces? As with getting apprentices the required training, people doing degree or diploma courses need to get placement in the workplace at the same time as studying and as part of an overall package, rather than it just being purely academic or purely focused on the college itself.

I too thank all the people involved in providing back-up support yesterday, such as the city council, the county council, the fire services, the Civil Defence, the Army and the Garda. They did a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances and it is important we acknowledge them. I raise the issue in Blackpool, which the Tánaiste referred to earlier. I know there are people who took a judicial review and, as a result, the development of flood relief in Blackpool has been delayed. My office is less than 20 yd from …

I very much welcome the work the Minister has done over the past two to three years. There are challenges in healthcare provision and a supplementary budget will be needed to deal with the expenditure of an additional €1.5 billion this year. There are issues we need to look at in dealing with healthcare. It was interesting to hear the Sinn Féin spokesperson on health acknowledging that the health service in this country had contributed to the increase of 11 years in life expectancy, from 71 to 82, in the past 50 ye…

First, we need to be careful about how we use statistics. One month's figures do not make a trend. We also need to be careful of using figures from unofficial sources. The CSO publishes quarterly reports on vital statistics, which include births and deaths. Quarter 1 figures for 2023 were published on 25 August. As regards death registration, they correctly point out that many deaths occurring in a particular quarter may not be registered until the following quarter. They indicate that of the 10,205 deaths register…

The international community must support the call by the UN Secretary General for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The United States has an obligation, as Israel's main partner, to persuade it to stop the bombing of Gaza. The collective punishment of the people of Gaza is a gross violation of human rights. The people of Gaza are being killed, wounded and traumatised without respite. This must be condemned without reservation. A ground invasion of Gaza will only bring more chaos. The immediate opening of a human…

The second-biggest city in Northern Ireland, Derry, has fewer than 6,000 third level students, whereas 35,000 to 40,000 students have descended on our second-biggest city, Cork, and are attending Munster Technological University or University College Cork. What commitment can we give to try to assist in the development of a major third level institution in the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland, particularly in the context of the barriers that have been put up over many years in the context of that development…

I welcome the budget, especially the funding of more than €22.5 billion to be provided in health. An important area in healthcare is the delivery of infrastructure and there is a need to fast-track that area. It is interesting to see that the population has increased by 1.5 million people in the past 23 years. We have gone from 3.8 million people to 5.2 million. That is a 40% increase. It is now important that we deliver the services required to serve that population. It is likely that the population will reach 6 m…

Will the Department consider increasing the small gift exemption for capital acquisitions tax, CAT, from €3,000 to €5,000 from each person per year? This was introduced in 2003 and it has not changed since. Will consideration be given to this? It is about the redistribution of wealth. If people find that when they give money to someone, there is going to be a liability for tax, their immediate attitude is not to give that gift. It is something to consider.

I fully accept what the Minister said about the exemptions that are available but it was 2003 when this was last changed. It is 20 years on and it is the time to look at this again, particularly in respect of CAT. Generally, the exemptions that were there prior to 2008 were greater than what they are now. As the Minister will appreciate, the value of property has gone up substantially and the cost of living has gone up in the meantime. Therefore, should the increases in CAT relief not be applied in the same way? I …

The Minister will accept, though, that there is a need for some change in CAT in view of the fact that the value of property has increased substantially. The exemptions were higher going back 15 or 18 years ago than what they are now. There have been changes in a whole lot of areas in the meantime. I am asking that consideration would be given to this.

I ask the Minister to outline the tax receipts for income tax, corporation tax and VAT to date in 2023 and to make a statement on the matter.

Is the increase in income tax receipts a reflection of the increased number of people in employment? I understand that approximately 80,000 more people are in employment compared with this time last year. Alternatively, is it a reflection of increases in wages and salaries? VAT receipts have increased by 9.5%. Is that a reflection not necessarily of an increase in the volume of sales of goods and services delivered but an increase in the prices being charged because VAT automatically goes up if the cost of goods ha…

The Minister outlined the issue in regard to the concerns about the corporate tax not returning as much as was originally planned. In regard to planning for the next 12 months, do we need to make sure that we plan carefully for that? Is there an expectation that all the larger companies in Ireland, and indeed all the companies here, are continuing to grow? They are continuing to employ more people therefore their turnover will increase. Should we presume that this will now stabilise rather than reduce?

The population has increased by 1.5 million in the past 20 years, or 40%, and there is a need to fast-track the delivery of medical facilities. An increase of 1.5 million people is huge. In Cork, for instance, we have planning for a new paediatric unit and there is also the issue regarding the delivery of elective hospitals. We need now to respond. As the Tánaiste said earlier, there has been an increase in the population of 97,000 in the past 12 months alone, and our health service has to respond accordingly. It i…

We have planning for the new paediatric unit.