The Minister is very welcome to the House. I wish him and his family a very happy Christmas. This legislation has been a long time coming. I am glad that it has finally come before the Seanad. I pay tribute to the incredible work of the Together for Safety campaigners. Their dedication and persistence have helped get us through to this crucial stage. I also commend the Minister on his work on it. Senator Gavan deserves the utmost credit for working with activists to bring forward the Private Members' Bill on this i…

I want to share a poem from Dr. Refaat Alareer from Gaza. He was a beautiful young man. He was a teacher of English literature, a translator and a poet who was murdered by Israel last Thursday. He was an individual with dreams as vivid as anyone sitting in this Chamber. His life mattered and he deserves justice as does every family in Gaza. As a tribute, people on Twitter have translated Dr. Refaat Alareer's poem called If I Must Die , which I shall read out: If I must die you must live to tell my story to sell my …

I congratulate Senator Mary Seery Kearney on the fantastic work she did on this issue. On behalf of the Civil Engagement Group, CEG, I say, “Well done”. I wish to raise the issue of Palestine once again. The European Council will meet this week. As the situation in Gaza worsens and the death toll rises, we hear loud and clear right across Ireland and the world the call for action to hold Israel to account. In the EU context, there are a number of things we can and should specifically do. In particular, I urge the G…

I apologise for running in late. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Recommendation No. 1 calls for a report by the Minister on private pension tax relief, including "an assessment on both the gender and distributional impact and an assessment of the potential impacts or benefits of a shift from a marginal rate to a 30 per cent standard rate approach for private pension tax relief in respect of cost to the exchequer and gender impact." I know the Minister of State had an exchange with my colleague, Senato…

I am disappointed-----

I will press it.

I move recommendation No. 2: In page 88, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “Report on limitation of deferred tax assets 46. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the potential revenue implications for the State if the 50 per cent limit on deferred tax assets was reimposed.”

This calls for the Minister to produce a report outlining the potential revenue implications for the State if the 50% limit on deferred tax assets was reimposed. Every year, my group raises this issue at each Finance Bill. It seems we have made little progress on this area. It has been well publicised that Irish banks benefit hugely from this scheme due to the amount of historic losses they have from the financial collapse in 2008. That caused untold suffering for most people and did not result in an effective tax …

I move recommendation No. 3. In page 112, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Report on wealth tax “52. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the potential revenue raised from, and distributional impact of, a wealth tax of 2 per cent on all households with assets of over 20 million euro.”.

The recommendation calls for a report by the Minister on the potential revenue raised from and the distributional impact of a wealth tax of 2% on all households with assets of more than €20 million. My colleague, Senator Ruane, had an exchange with the Minister on this issue on Committee Stage. We have slightly revised the recommendation to a higher threshold. According to Oxfam's Survival of the Richest report, globally since 2020 the richest 1% have captured almost two-thirds of all new wealth, nearly twice as mu…

I move recommendation No. 4: In page 112, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Report on corporation tax 52. The Minister shall, within twelve months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining an evaluation of the impact of Ireland’s corporate tax regime on human rights, welfare and in particular child welfare in the Global South.”.

Recommendation No. 4 calls for a report by the Minister outlining an evaluation of the impact of Ireland's corporate tax regime on human rights, welfare and in particular, child welfare in the global south. Earlier this year, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child called on the Irish Government to ensure that its tax policies do not lead to corporate profit shifting, which takes resources away from low-income countries and prevents them from having the resource they need to protect and enhance chil…

I move recommendation No. 5: In page 302, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “Report on increase in rate of vacant homes tax 100. The Minister shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on options for changes to the Vacant Homes Tax, including options to increase the rate of tax to ten times the basic rate of Local Property Tax and the potential for the inclusion of derelict properties within the criteria for taxable properties.”.

Recommendation No. 5 calls for a report on options for changes to the vacant homes tax, including options to increase the rate of tax to ten times the basic rate of local property tax and the potential for the inclusion of derelict properties within the criteria for taxable properties. It is welcome that the vacant homes tax is being increased from three times the basic rate of local property tax to five times. This is clearly in recognition of the fact that the current rate, which amounts to about 0.3% of the valu…

I move recommendation No. 6: In page 302, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “Report on aviation kerosene 100. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the potential for Ireland to waive the excise exemption on aviation kerosene by entering into bilateral agreements to tax fuel for intra-community flights.”.

Recommendation No. 6 calls for the Minister to produce a report outlining the potential for Ireland to waive the excise exemption on aviation kerosene by entering into bilateral agreements to tax fuel for intracommunity flights. On Committee Stage, my colleague, Senator Ruane, stated that the Government provided €2.4 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry in 2019, according to the Central Statistics Office, CSO. This was 1% higher than the previous year and almost 70% higher than in 2000, when subsidies t…

I would like to speak to amendment No. 5. Is that okay?

I am sorry; I will wait.

Amendment No. 5 seeks a report on the adequacy of social protection payments and options for benchmarking social protection payments to the minimum essential standard of living. This year, the MESL research centre had recommended a €27.50 increase to core adult social welfare rates but, instead, what we got in the budget was €12. In its post-budget analysis, the MESL research centre noted the purchasing power of core social protection supports had not been maintained and, as a result, the adjustments are a real-ter…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 11, after line 34, to insert the following: “Report on adequacy of social protection payments and Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) 21. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas and the Joint Committee on Social Protection a report on options for increasing and benchmarking all social protection rates in line with the Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL), including an analysis of options to …