I commend the community spirit in the areas that were devastated by flooding. I witnessed some of it along with the Deputy, including in Midleton. Many of the businesses have already reopened and are getting great support within the local community. The Red Cross is administering the scheme to which the Deputy referred. One of the conditions of the scheme is that only small businesses which, through not fault of their own, could not secure flood insurance are eligible. The Deputy has raised a valid and specific iss…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue at Castletown House. As he will understand, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on any current or prospective legal action. The best way of resolving the issues he has highlighted is through dialogue and engagement. I encourage all the parties involved to come together and work this through.

Opening hours are a matter for operational decision by the Garda Commissioner. What has happened in other locations is there has been engagement with the local community and public representatives, and a commitment has been given that the Garda station will be open for certain defined hours in the week in order that people who have to go there to get passport forms stamped and so on know it will definitely be open at certain times. Perhaps that is worth exploring at local level. It has been done successfully elsewh…

I have met Pepper directly ,and my officials are meeting it again this week. Neither I nor the Central Bank have the power to intervene in respect of interest rates. The Central Bank has been clear that it does not wish to have legislative powers in this area. I have, however, reminded Pepper and other non-bank lenders of their obligations to borrowers, including full adherence to the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and the need to work through individual cases sympathetically and compassionately and come up wi…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Undoubtedly there is a need to continue to expand commuter services in the public transport space. That is why we have provided a very large capital budget within the national development plan. The Deputy has raised specifically the possible expansion of Dart+ West and South West, so I will raise that issue directly with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

I want to acknowledge the important work that CARI does. The Deputy has raised specifically the issue around funding. In August of this year, the board of CARI communicated to Tusla its financial deficit on service delivery and that without additional support of €243,000 required until the end of the year, it was its intention to cease operating and to close the CARI service. On 6 September, the Tusla commissioning team met with CARI senior management with regard to funding. CARI outlined some of the causes for fin…

Where does the Ceann Comhairle think?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue regarding Myshall in Carlow. It is the Government's policy that we want high-visibility policing, and our community gardaí do a fantastic job. We certainly want to see more of them in communities, out and about and engaging with local residents. The key for us is to increase recruitment and that is why we are, as the Deputy knows, embarking on a very significant recruitment campaign at the moment. Enough funding was provided in the current year for 1,000 additional gardaí an…

I was very disappointed by the news regarding Lakeland Dairies. I assure the Deputy that the State agencies will liaise with both the company and the workers who may be affected. It should be noted that the co-operative said in its statement that there will be redeployment opportunities for some staff into vacant positions in the business. It has commenced an engagement and consultation process directly with staff and their unions. Notwithstanding that, some people will lose their jobs. It remains to be seen whethe…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)( a ) and 181(1).

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." We are here to start our consideration of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023, which will give the necessary legal basis to the decisions announced in the budget and make a number of other necessary changes to tax legislation. I will begin by outlining the aims of the Bill and move on to highlighting certain key measures before discussing the more granular contents. In my Budget Statement two weeks ago, I noted Ireland’s positive economic performance. Inflation is persis…

I welcome the opportunity to present budget 2024 to this House, alongside my colleague the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. INTRODUCTION Budget 2024 is the first budget I will deliver as Minister for Finance. It is an enormous privilege to serve in this historic office and I have a deep sense of the responsibility that comes with it. As Minister for Finance, it is my role, working with colleagues, to balance the needs of our society today, while ensuring the well-being of our economy for generations to come. This budget w…

I wish to announce a number of other new measures in budget 2024. An issue which has been regularly raised with me, including by colleagues across the House, is the VAT treatment of audio books and e-books. E-books are currently subject to a VAT rate of 9%, unlike printed books, which are zero-rated. Audio books are not currently included in the VAT zero-rating. Therefore, I have decided to zero-rate these items from 1 January 2024. It is important that the wider familial relationships which foster children have by…

As we stand here today, I believe there is so much in our country we can be proud of. CONCLUSION Full employment, a growing economy, budget surpluses, a national debt that is falling, a population that is rising, and now a plan to secure the future. We can never take any of this for granted and we must always strive to do better. Today’s budget provides help to households and businesses. It reaffirms our commitment to good-quality public services and to investment in modern infrastructure. It seeks to unlock the fu…

You are wrong.

I thank Deputy Doherty for his question. As I have stated previously in the House, the position is that the formulation and implementation of monetary policy in the eurozone and the setting of official interest rates is an independent matter for the European Central Bank. The Government has no role in setting official interest rates, nor in setting the retail interest rates that lenders may charge on their loans, including mortgages. That is a business and commercial matter for individual lenders. As the Deputy wil…

For factual accuracy, as the Deputy well knows, when we advocated in opposition for an extension of mortgage interest relief it was in the context of the confidence and supply agreement we had. The relief was about to be phased out and we negotiated an extension of mortgage interest relief and it remained in place for longer than it otherwise would have. That is the fact of the matter, as the Deputy knows well. We are five days out from budget day and it is undoubtedly the case that there will be a very sharp focus…

Again, as the Deputy knows well, when my party was in opposition, we used the influence we had at the time to secure an extension to mortgage interest relief, but that ended a number of years ago. It is undoubtedly the case that the ten successive ECB rate increases are placing a real burden on households throughout the country. I am not into rhetoric or political declarations; I am into finding solutions and helping families with the costs they have. We have been very active on the issue of supporting families who…

I thank Deputy Nash for raising this issue. The domicile levy was introduced in the Finance Act 2010, as he said, to ensure Irish-domiciled individuals who met certain criteria would make a contribution to the Exchequer, irrespective of where they were resident for tax purposes. The purpose of the levy is to ensure individuals with substantial income and assets located in the State will make some sort of contribution to the Exchequer. The levy is payable, on a self-assessment basis, on or before 31 October in the y…

To clarify, what declarations or information is the Deputy looking for?