I thank Deputy McNamara for giving me the opportunity to update the House as regards the agri-climate rural environment scheme, in particular the scheduling of payments to farmers under the scheme. ACRES, as we better know it, is the agri-environment climate measure under Ireland's CAP strategic plan 2023-2027. In line with the commitment in the programme for Government, this flagship environmental scheme, to which the Government has committed over €1.5 billion over its duration, was launched in 2022 and proved to …

That is not a problem. I appreciate the point Deputy McNamara makes. I referred earlier to two thirds of ACRES general participants' claims being in the final stages of being processed before year-end. It is now 13 December, and 18 December is next week. I will interrogate with the Minister the question or otherwise of a State body charging interest in respect of a bill. That does not seem like a practical thing to do when working hand in hand with the Department to try to achieve a results-based outcome. I will co…

Government backbenchers have far less time to have opportunities to contribute, including on Government business. This is the first time that we have delivered such a complex payment structure. Does the Deputy not think it appropriate that the Department should get it right rather than having to go back and forth, which would double the administration and double the slowness? It is better to get it right the first time. I appreciate the points that were made.

I thank Senator Ruane. I am glad that the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, had the opportunity to speak directly with her. I will update Senators more broadly on the position but I know the Minister of State will do further work in that regard. As Senator Ruane said, naloxone is a prescription-only drug at the moment and measures have been put in place to ensure that as many people as possible have access to naloxone administration courses. The Department of Health and the HSE are acutely aware of the…

The Prison Service has been working with HSE addiction services on this for some time. It is a hugely beneficial project that benefits both people in prison and their families. There is significant ongoing training for pharmacists on naloxone administration. There is a body of work on this as the Government recognises that it is a lifesaving drug. It is clear the response it can have on a person's life and their well-being. Notwithstanding that it is currently a prescription drug and that there are restrictions on …

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Finance, who will be signing the commencement order. He states that the new requirements under which employers must report to Revenue certain non-taxable benefits paid to their employees or directors were introduced in section 9 of the Finance Act 2022. These reportable benefits are the remote working daily allowance of €3.20, untaxed travel and subsistence payments, and qualifying incentives under the small benefit exemption. The Senator's point in respect of a…

The Senator is right. Anything that increases the administrative burden is difficult, particularly in the first instance. That is why it is important to have a flexible approach to begin with. Once one gets into a new reporting practice, however, it tends to be embedded in the practices of the business. If we can get to a point where more compliant businesses are being audited less frequently or having to draw less attention from Revenue, there is a benefit in the long run for already compliant businesses. I apprec…

To clarify, is the site the Senator is referring to in respect of 112 affordable purchase homes also referred to as Cammogue?

I thank the Senator. I was afraid we might have been talking about two different places and I would not like that. I am happy to update the House on this matter, noting that, in line with the Affordable Housing Act 2021, responsibility for the administration of affordable housing schemes rests with the local authority concerned, in this case Cork County Council. Kinsale is an absolutely place but it is not just for people who can afford very expensive sites or houses. Ireland is for everybody and Kinsale is certain…

I look forward to seeing the development of the site and the advertisements this time next year, and I am sure we will both keep an eye out to make sure the timeline is met. I look forward also to visiting west Cork and seeing with the Senator the opportunities that may be there for the vacant property refurbishment grant. As Minister of State with responsibility for credit unions, I am keen to see how credit unions can assist with that, perhaps in Skibbereen and elsewhere, to support people in getting a grant, giv…

I thank Deputies Pringle, Connolly and Joan Collins for putting forward this motion and giving us an opportunity to talk about this matter. I disagree with Deputy Pringle's comments that COP was a farce. I do not agree that it was. The progress overnight was really important. Eamon Ryan was one of the EU's lead negotiators and he has put enormous effort into two things in the past two weeks, the first of which was the early achievement of the loss and damage fund and the scale it was achieved at. It was one of Irel…

I thank Senator Black for outlining her position on this. As a female Minister of State in the Department of Finance, I have a very acute interest in the gender distribution of policy made in the Department and particularly on the inequitable outcomes for women in pensions and on pension poverty. I am aware of that in everything we do. I appreciate the Senator has had an exchange with the Minister for Finance on this. I know he has outlined the work of the interdepartmental pensions reform and taxation group. I do …

I thank Senator Black. The recommendation requests a report on the potential revenue implications for the State if a 50% limit on deferred tax assets was imposed. As Senators are aware, loss relief for corporation tax is a long-standing feature of the Irish corporate tax system and a standard feature of corporation tax systems in most OECD countries. It recognises the fact that a business cycle runs over several years and it would be unfair to tax income earned in one year and not allow relief for losses incurred i…

This proposed recommendation seeks the preparation of a report on the revenue that might be raised from and the distributional impact of a wealth tax of 2% on all households with assets over €20 million within six months of the passing of the Bill into law. As Senators from all sides of the House are aware, wealth can be and is taxed in a variety of ways. Many such taxes are already levied here in Ireland. They include capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax, which are taxes on wealth, in that they are paid …

The proposed recommendation attempts to create a link between the Irish corporation tax system, on the one hand, and human rights and welfare, including child welfare in the global south, on the other. These are distinct policy considerations. I will address reform, and the extensive work in recent years the Department of Finance has undertaken to update the Irish corporate tax system, much of which is included in this Bill in terms of the OECD's base erosion and profit shifting project, of which we have been suppo…

Tackling vacancy is an urgent priority for the Government and every Member of the Houses. It is appropriate that every available lever is deployed to incentivise the use of existing housing stock throughout the country. This includes measures to deter vacancy, alongside supportive measures that Senators have mentioned, such as grants. For this reason, the Minister for Finance announced in the budget that the rate of the vacant homes tax will increase to five times the existing base local property tax rate. The incr…

Senators will be aware the Government is committed to tackling climate change and decarbonising the economy by 2050, and we are very much aware of the challenges subsidies pose to our collective effort to disincentivise fossil fuels. We are stuck in a difficult transition period as we try both to help people meet their energy bills and to transition the economy to renewable energy sources. The programme for Government, the climate action plan and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act form broad policy a…

I thank the Senator for highlighting that, given it was agreed to in the 2022 Act, as he said. I have confirmed with my officials that Revenue continues to work on it. It is a priority for the Department of Finance that it is active. Officials have been in touch with Revenue in the last week or so to make sure that is so. The Department of Finance is keen that it be implemented shortly by Revenue.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to bring this Bill back to the Seanad. I will speak broadly on the Bill, as the Seanad wishes, and about the Bill’s background as we finish up. The Bill is the culmination of three years of collaborative work by my departmental officials, the credit union sector’s representative bodies, the Central Bank and many devoted credit union staff and volunteers from around the country. I thank all of them. Amendment No. 1 is grouped with the other amendments of group 1. The group addr…

Group 2 addresses the following issues: the expansion of the definition of a “common bond” to include the common bond of a corporate credit union; the modernisation of the language in the Credit Union Act regarding the objects and purpose of a credit union; the establishment of a corporate credit union and the establishment of its common bond; and provision for credit unions to provide either a description or a map of its common bond on its website.