What is it?

I welcome the motion. The ability to work remotely and the use of such technology have thrown a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of workers and businesses across the country. While remote working is not new, we are all fairly certain that it is going to become more widespread after this pandemic. The motion refers to the national remote work strategy and the need for additional data. We need to pay tribute to the Central Statistics Office, which has worked hard at putting together data as to who is and is not work…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today and taking our Commencement matter. What was implemented on 23 December was not a ban on co-living in this city or indeed in the country. It is not a ban for the communities that I live among and represent. There are two specific reasons for that. The first is the failure to retrospectively apply the ban. I will outline what that means for the communities I live among in Phibsboro, Stoneybatter and Dublin's north inner city. Over the next 12 months, 1,096 …

I wish to relay the frustration that is being communicated to me by email from many families across the country - they have also been in contact with the National Women's Council of Ireland and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions - regarding the delay in extending parent's leave from two weeks to five. It is worth recalling what was promised. Last summer, many mothers and families were unable to access childcare because so many childcare facilities would not take on children under the age of one. They wanted to retu…

I am very glad to speak on this important Bill at this sitting. While it is fair to say that there are many of us on this side of the Chamber who may have done it quite differently in terms of the Bill itself, and we have pointed to gaps and missed opportunities, nonetheless this is a very important and positive debate. A lot has been said this evening, and at the conclusion of this debate I want my message to be that there is a onus now, on Government party Senators in particular and indeed the Minister, to ensure…

I am heartened to see the Fianna Fáil Bill on period products. The House should note that Senator Rebecca Moynihan and the Labour Party put down a Bill on period products just last week, which is No. 11 on the Order Paper. I wish to raise two issues today. We have spent many months calling for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to come to the House to discuss co-living and the sheer volume of co-living planning applications in the system, especially in Dublin. I repeat …

It is very fitting that Senator Boyhan is the Acting Chairperson today. The Senator's contribution to the House last week was a very important one. I welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. Much has already been said about the report. From my perspective it is hard to put into words the sense of horror and shame reading some of the women's testimonies and the report of the confidential committee. Reflected in the body of the report was that women were treated worse than animals. Many of the women had zero idea of wh…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. Has it been communicated to him that someone else will ask Senator McGahon's question?

Senator Keogan is next as Senator McGahon cannot be here.

I thank the Minister of State. The Senator has one minute to respond.

I ask the Minister of State to provide the Senator with a copy of his contribution.

My apologies to the Minister of State. I understand his contribution is available to Members. I thank him for coming to the House. I also thank Senator Keogan.

I move recommendation No. 1: In page 1. In page 9, to delete lines 9 to 24 and substitute the following: “ “(iib) Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment (within the meaning of the Act of 2005),”, and (b) by inserting the following after subsection (6B): “(6C) The payments, commonly known as the pandemic unemployment payments, made under section 202 of the Act of 2005 on and after 13 March 2020 to the relevant date (within the meaning of section 7 of that Act), shall be exempt from income tax and shall not be reckon…

On Committee Stage, I made very clear on behalf of my colleagues in the Labour Party our deep unease - this is shared by other colleagues on this side of the Chamber - regarding what we believe is the retrospective application of income tax to the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, between 13 March and 5 August. I listened very carefully to the comments the Minister of State made, especially with regard to the income tax classification of PUP income received in the context of Case IV of Schedule D and also the nee…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply but I am disappointed by it. I believe the goalposts have been shifted since Committee Stage, when Senators were told that people would be horrified to discover that they would not be able to offset some of their tax liability for the PUP against their personal and PAYE tax credits. The recommendation clearly attempts to deal with that by separating the period before 5 August from the period after 5 August. The Minister of State has made his point. Obviously, I have not w…

I second the recommendation.

I support Senator McDowell in calling for all in the Seanad to show leadership. All Senators received a letter from my colleague, Deputy Kelly, last week urging them to sign a pledge stating they will take the vaccine. I support the call for a debate in the Seanad with the Minister for Finance on insurance. The findings in the report of the Central Bank are extremely serious. They point to a majority of firms within the insurance industry engaging in dual pricing, an abuse of market power and cross-subsidisation be…

We are opposing the section and specifically the provisions relating to the retrospective application of income tax to the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, for the 20 and a half weeks between 13 March and 5 August. Let us be clear what is in question here. The Social Welfare (Covid-19) Act 2020 provides that the PUP is subject to tax from 5 August but it is only now, in the middle of December, that we will be retrospectively applying income tax to that vital payment between those dates that kept many thousands o…

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed and considered response. I would like to make three points. It is well within the power of the Government to allow on a pro rata basis the application of the PAYE allowance and personal tax credit during this tax year. It is within the power of the Government to allow those tax credits to apply against whatever earned income is generated in 2020. My understanding of the Minister of State's response is that it is dressing up the section as an act of charity or mercy to …

I thank Senators Higgins and Gavan for the earlier support. I thought it was implicit in my comments that I was asking the Government to put forward a recommendation in the context of this Bill coming through our House. Senator Higgins has eloquently articulated how it is well within the power of the Government to bring forward recommendations on Report Stage. I am disappointed that the Minister of State would seek to attribute comments to me that are a complete misrepresentation of what I said.