I move recommendation No. 1: In page 12, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: "Report on Help-to-Buy Scheme 7. The Minister shall within 6 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the operation of the Help-to-Buy Scheme and its uptake, both in its original form and its enhanced form. ". I welcome the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to the House. The Finance Bill is a really important document. There has been a great deal of work done on the help-to-bu…

I thank the Minister for his well put together response. I thank him for pointing out that the information is available. I compliment the scheme overall and look forward to it going from strength to strength.

I move recommendation No. 2: In page 13, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “Report on Small Benefit Exemption 8 . The Minister shall within 3 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the potential broadening of the Small Benefit Exemption in such cases where the assistance provided is for energy and transport costs associated with employment. ”. I welcome the doubling of the support, whereby a company will be able to give its employees up to €1…

I move recommendation No. 3: In page 15, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “Report on Income Tax 11. The Minister shall within 4 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on increasing the standard rate cut-off point with respect to income tax to €50,000.”. The report on income tax was published recently. The Minister is looking at broadening the tax bands, and we will all be better off for that and have more money in our pockets. The standard ra…

I thank the Minister for his clear statement and explanation.

I move recommendation No. 4: In page 15, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “Report on Tax Credit 11. The Minister shall within 4 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the impact of increasing both the employee tax credit and the earned income tax credit to €2,000 by 2025.”.

I move recommendation No. 5: In page 15, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “Report on Tax Rates 11. The Minister shall within 4 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the introduction of a new 30 per cent tax rate in Budget 2024.”.

I move recommendation No. 11: In page 67, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “Report on Living Cities Initiative 26. The Minister shall within 6 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the expansion of the Living Cities Initiative to towns to encourage the refurbishment or conversion of suitable properties for city or town-centre living.”. I compliment the Minister and his team on all their work to date on the expansion of the living city ini…

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response and his commitment to assessing this as we go along. I will withdraw the recommendation and work with the Minister's suggestion.

I move recommendation No. 12: In page 91, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “Report on Energy Efficiency 33. The Minister shall by 31st July 2023 prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the uptake of this new incentive to make rental homes more energy efficient.”.

I know this is to do with rental properties but it involves greater use of more heat efficiencies and greater insulation to make rental homes more energy-efficient. I welcome what the Minister has planned in respect of the Finance Bill. In my time on the council and in the Oireachtas, I have been in some rental properties that are substandard. I believe that this change will go a long way but I would love to see, maybe in six months, if it is not working, that we would revisit it. While some landlords will be very …

I thank the Minister. It is great that he is willing to accept the main thrust of the recommendation and has assured us the information will be put out there when it is available. On that basis, I withdraw the recommendation.

I second this amendment. I also wish to address the regional uplift from film production and section 481. In my own area of Limerick, we have Troy Studios, and this has been a great success to date. I refer to the reduction in the credit. It was at 5% for a number of years. While it was at 5%, Troy film studios was full. This credit is currently down to 3%, it will be 2% next year, and nil after that. I support Senator Kyne and ask that the Minister might review this measure because I know it has created almost 5,0…

I appreciate that the Minister has outlined the circumstances of this. Before he finally phases out this credit, perhaps he might consider doing a review at that time to ensure nobody is left behind. That is the only commitment I ask the Minister to make.

In light of the Minister's response, I will withdraw the recommendation.

I move recommendation No. 21: In page 104, between lines 42 and 43, to insert the following: “Report on Mineral Oil Tax rates 45. The Minister shall within 3 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the retention of the reduction in Mineral Oil Tax rates until 30th April 2023.”.

I raised this matter with the Minister of State on the previous occasion. It has to do with setting the price of a packet of cigarettes. I wrote to the Department in the meantime. I want to put on record the fact that some packets of cigarettes are on special offer and are being sold at a lower price. We are trying to encourage people to stop smoking. My understanding is that the price is set by the manufacturers. I am not sure that is healthy. Maybe the Department could reconsider this down the line. As I said on …

I move recommendation No. 24: In page 115, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Report on VAT rates for e-books and audio-books65. The Minister shall within 3 months of the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the application of the zero rate of VAT to— (a) e-books, and(b) audio-books.”. E-books and audio books were discussed on a previous occasion, as well as journals and newsworthy magazines such as The Economist , Business and Finance and the Phoenix …

I accept the response from the Minister of State. I thank him for his commitment that the matter be considered in future budgets.

I thank the Minister for coming in to discuss this all-important Bill. I compliment her on the amount of work she has done to date, certainly with regard to the different payments that were geared towards people at the lower end of the scale, as well as working families. I have come across an anomaly with regard to older people. I was speaking to a 102-year-old woman during the week. Her granddaughter is living with her because she is working towards purchasing a house. The lady cannot qualify for the fuel allowanc…