Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to take Final Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I wish to raise in the House and bring to the attention of the Acting Leader a point that has been made by Members of both Houses in the last while but which now needs emphasis. We are going into the Christmas period. We are facing uncertainty over Covid and how it is developing. Most people would be of the view that we must be cautious. However, one thing that has not gone away you know is the necessity for Oireachtas accountability. I ask the Acting Leader to speak to the Cabinet about reinstating the Special Com…

They have not done that.

I have some sympathy with Senator Higgins's suggestion that there should be a report on some of these possible changes in taxation policy. I am an admirer of the skills of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, but what is wrong with the current Government is that we are not facing up to a fundamental issue, namely, the level of capital gains tax. When I served as Opposition spokesperson on finance for the Progressive Democrats in 2002, I proposed an amendment to the Finance Bill to reduce the rate of capital ga…

I completely agree with the last contribution. This is not an ideological thing. It is about increasing the capacity of assets to flow into the market. A capital gains tax of one third is indefensible in that context. Senator Gavan mentioned the Government's view of the proposal to give some income tax relief on rental payments to taxpayers who are not entitled to other reliefs. I voted in favour of that because I genuinely believe that people are being very heavily gouged by the housing shortage in respect of the …

This debate is a valuable one. What the Minister has just said is in general something with which I can sympathise considerably. I fully accept that to cut capital gains tax from 40% to 20% in 2002 is possibly different from the scenario the Minister now faces where there is a massive amount of money sloshing around looking for places to land and where inflationary pressures are high. I am totally conscious of the cyclical and countercyclical implications of changes to capital gains tax. However, I make the point, …

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is doing a great job in trying to revolutionise that Department but it, through its prefects across local government, has completely misunderstood the capacity under the housing Acts and local government and planning and development Acts to make a difference by acquiring land and helping in the process of redevelopment. Personnel in the Department just do not do that. They do not look at ten or 15 acres in Clanbrassil Street or off Dorset Street and say, "This could be radicall…

To finish in a positive mode, I agree with the Minister that to say private capital has no function in solving the housing crisis is crazy. It is ideological madness in the present circumstances.

I move: That Seanad Éireann: - calls on the Government to consistently and strongly: - speak out against ongoing and sustained breaches of fundamental human rights in the People’s Republic of China; and - support the freedoms and liberties of the people of Taiwan; - reiterates its view that no force should be used in any attempted unification of China with Taiwan; - condemns utterly the treatment of the Uyghur population of Xinjiang province by the government in Beijing; - requests that the Government deals with th…

I thank the Minister of State for being here and I thank all the Members of the House from right across the political spectrum for their participation in this debate. I will make a couple of points, if I may. Senator Mullen and I might disagree on one point. The Minister of State was succinct in his responses. His senior colleague is not as succinct sometimes. The Minister of State departed from the script in one important respect. He stated that it is no part of the Government's policy or intention to discourage M…

I rise to speak about one thing only and that is the mushroom industry. It is the only thing I am concerned with. I oppose the export of Irish peat to the UK and other places for horticultural purposes there. They can get on with their John Innes compost or whatever else they have. I am only concerned with the mushroom industry and the people whose jobs are at issue in the mushroom industry. It is all very well to come into this House and blame parties for the errors that have happened. Sometimes we should be hones…

-----who are promoting this Bill. It is important that we do something practical now for the mushroom industry. I have known about this from another aspect of my life, which I will not go into. We have known for more than three years that this crisis was coming but nobody stood up to say they were going to deal with it and save the mushroom industry. There is no point in coming in here and saying we need research into a different medium for growing mushrooms at this point because the industry will be wiped out whil…

The Minister of State is welcome to the House.

Three minutes remain. I ask Senators Buttimer and Lombard to agree to share time.

Tá leasú Uimh. 26 as ord.

Tá baint ag leasuithe Uimh. 29 agus 30 le chéile agus pléifear le chéile iad.

Ar mhaith leis an Seanadóir leasú Uimh. 29 a bhrú?

Ar mhaith leis an Aire Stáit labhairt anois?