I agree. The acquisition of the extra seven acres by IDA Ireland from Louth County Council makes the entire parcel of land much more attractive to investment. The Deputy knows the geography of the area better than I do, but I know where the site is. The purchase has not just increased the footprint from 39 acres to 46 acres but has also made this a better-shaped site, if this makes any sense. As the Deputy said as well, it provides better access to the road and should make it easier to service. I do not have a time…

My Department continues to progress its work on the White Paper on enterprise, which is scheduled for publication in December this year. We undertook an extensive consultation with the public, stakeholders, academia and other interested parties over the summer. We also held a symposium on the project earlier this month. The White Paper will seek to articulate what needs to be done differently to realise our aspirations for our economy in 2030 and beyond. It will set out the risks we face, the policy choices and, im…

With regard to making a submission it is not too late. It is a non-statutory process and if the Deputy or any other Oireachtas Member wants to make a submission even at this late stage they are very welcome to do so. Our industrial policy down the years has served us very well. We have done well in our economic success, full employment, high levels of prosperity and high living standards in a ranking of 200 countries. It is largely based on trade and exports. It is not just about foreign direct investment. People o…

I am conscious of the fact we have not had any announcement yet from the ECB on interest rates, but it is anticipated, or widely reported at least, that the ECB will raise interest rates by 0.75 of a percentage point today. I have to emphasise that, as we in this House all know, the European Central Bank is independent in its functions, does not take directions from this Government or any government and will make its decisions based on what it believes is the right thing to do for the economy in the round. I know t…

I would love to bring back mortgage interest relief for people who have tracker mortgages - I would benefit from it myself, by the way, as would a huge number of my constituents in Dublin 15, but I cannot make those kinds of promises. We had mortgage interest relief in the past when interest rates were much higher than they are now. We now have a prolonged period of very low interest rates coming to an end and we are seeing interest rates go back to something that would have been considered much more normal five, t…

Now Sinn Féin has another set of populist promises to make to take advantage of people who have tracker mortgages. When is Deputy Doherty going to learn from what has happened across the water?

Quite the contrary, what the UK has done and is now reversing is exactly what Sinn Féin proposed.

It is another populist promise it wants to con people with. I used to think it would take two years for Sinn Féin to wreck our economy. I now think only one budget by Kwasi Doherty would do all damage.

As the Deputy knows, today is the last day to establish an Executive in Northern Ireland and to give effect to the outcome of last May's assembly election. If the Executive is not formed, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is required by law to call an election. However, we believe Northern Ireland does not need a new election. It had an election 24 weeks ago and the results were clear and should be honoured. What Northern Ireland needs is a functioning assembly and a functioning Executive to give effect t…

Our plan is to engage as part of the European Union with the British Government to seek an agreement on the protocol, not just on the issues relating to trade but also to ensure issues relating to human rights and the non-diminution of the rights of people in Northern Ireland are fully protected. This is something we are very keen to do with Prime Minister Sunak and his Cabinet. If the election is called and goes ahead, we will have to take stock of the result. I doubt it will be very different or different at all …

I thank the Deputy for his question. The main way in which we can intervene to help small businesses is through the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS. This legislation is now going through the House. It will give businesses up to €10,000 monthly to help them with their energy bills. We are keen to get this measure legislated for as soon as possible, to get the scheme up and running and to backdate it to September 2022. This will help many businesses to a large extent with their energy costs. As is the…

I appreciate that fuel prices are very high. Seeing the price of diesel going up again is alarming for many people. I absolutely get this. I understand and appreciate it, and this is why the Government has intervened. We have reduced excise duties on petrol and diesel by 20 cent per litre and 15 cent per litre, respectively. It is now down as low as it can go under European rules on diesel duty. We could, potentially, go down a little bit more on the price of petrol-----

-----but it is the price of diesel that is really worrying people now.

It is legally possible under European law to reduce the excise duty charged on petrol a bit more, but not on diesel. There is, therefore, no point in calling for this. As the Deputy knows, we have reduced the VAT rate charged on electricity and gas costs to 9%, which is the lowest ever. Businesses can, of course, claim back their VAT expenses. We cannot, however, be divorced from the reality of what is going on here. Energy prices are not being driven up by the Government. They are being driven up by what is happen…

-----by what is happening in Ukraine. The proportion of our fuel prices constituted by tax is falling.

I welcome the Deputy's support for the increase in the national minimum wage and her call for us to go further through the introduction of a living wage. I acknowledge that businesses are facing rising costs from many different angles, whether it is from the costs of labour, materials or energy and fuel. The budget had several measures to help. These included the extension of the 9% rate of VAT until the end of February. Crucially, the temporary business energy support scheme, which we are legislating for in the Ho…

We will do everything we can, as we did during the pandemic, to protect those businesses and those jobs that are viable but vulnerable. We have shown true cause on that in the years that have gone by. We have cut taxes. We cut VAT to 9% for electricity, gas, hospitality and personal services. We have also reduced excise on petrol and diesel. Now we are bringing in energy subsidies to help businesses to pay their energy bills. They will see that money in the next few weeks and it will be backdated to September. It w…

The Government is keen to get the mica scheme up and running. I want to see dozens, if not hundreds, of houses being repaired and rebuilt next year. We all want that to be the case. I understand that some regulations now have to be agreed by the Minister. I will come back to the Deputy with the timeline once I have had a chance to speak to him, and on the issue of the senior counsel.

It is an important issue but I would have to be across the details. If the Deputy wants to pass them on to me, I will look into it in closer detail if I can.

The problems we have in O'Connell Street are long-standing and, as the Deputy stated, complex. The issues range from dereliction to planning, addiction and policing. They are complex. It is not only O'Connell Street, by the way. It might be the worst manifestation of some of the problems that we have but there are other streets that are not in good condition either. There is already a north-east inner city task force, as the Deputy will be aware.