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).

Nobody heckled the Deputy.

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 ECB. 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. In relation to mortgage interest relief, and as the Deputy will be aware, th…

I acknowledge the work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, of which the Deputy is a member, in examining this issue and engaging with those who have direct knowledge and experience of this very important issue. I am directly engaging with the Central Bank of Ireland on this. I know the Deputy met with Central Bank officials yesterday. They are working proactively with the non-bank sector. Later this week, they will publish some additional data. It is important…

I thank the Deputy. For many customers who are with the non-bank sector at the moment, there is a way back in terms of switching. Many of those customers are fully repaying their mortgages. Those are no longer non-performing loans and those customers should be in a position to switch their loans back to a main retail lender. Many of the loans were sold because they were in distress. Others were sold because the lender left the Irish market. The main retail banks in Ireland should be actively welcoming back those cu…

I thank the Deputy. The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties in the housing market. As I have said on many occasions, the key problem is a lack of supply. This is why the Government is committed to increasing the supply of all types of homes, including social, affordable, rental and owner-occupier. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has primary responsibility for housing policy. As part of the Housing for All action plan update published last November, I understand that his Departmen…

I thank the Deputy. The truth is there are many reasons individual landlords decide to leave the market. The numbers are clear and the trend and pattern is unequivocal. Many are making the choice to get out of the market at this time. The Deputy raised the question of tax, which is one element of the issue but there are also other elements. Property values have increased significantly so many landlords who were in negative equity are now out of it and are taking the opportunity to exit. The buy-to-let interest rate…

I have previously made the point in the House that we need to be careful in using taxation policy in the context of the property market. There is a time and place for such interventions and there are measures that are appropriate if they are designed properly. However, it is worth making the point that taxation is paid on the profit. A significant number of reliefs are already available. I have mentioned the 100% mortgage interest relief. A range of deductible expenses are allowed for landlords, including the cost …

At the outset, the Deputy should note that neither the Government nor the Minister for Finance has a role in dictating the list price of vehicles, which are decided by car manufacturers or car dealerships. My colleague, the Minister for Transport, has overall policy responsibility for transport policy including managing the national vehicle and driver file, which is a database containing details of all 2.5 million registered vehicles and their owners as well as the 2.6 million licensed drivers in the country. The r…

I absolutely accept that the Government and I are responsible for taxation policy in respect of motor vehicles. While the second-hand market for electric vehicles is in the relatively early stages of development, it is happening and we are seeing more and more second-hand electric vehicles available in the market and being bought. That is why it is so important that we continue with the range of supports we have for new electric vehicles because they will become the second-hand vehicles made available on the market…

There is no escaping the fact that we have to undergo this transition to using more environmentally-friendly vehicles. It is not easy. We recognise the costs involved in the purchase of electric vehicles. That is why we have a range of supports in place. The technology is getting better all the time. Battery life is improving, as is the range of electric vehicles. The transport sector will have to play its part in reducing emissions. Unfortunately, that means everyone in society must work towards this transition. W…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am informed by the Central Bank that it does not collect this granularity of data in relation to the total number of victims of authorised push payment fraud or the compensation paid by payment service providers and payment institutions to victims of authorised push payment fraud. The provisional crime statistics for 2022, released by An Garda Síochána, note that technology based fraud, including phishing, account takeover, card not present, online shopping fraud, which …

The Deputy has submitted parliamentary question on this issue recently. As PSD2 is a maximum harmonisation directive, member states may not maintain or introduce provisions through the European Union payment services regulations other than those laid down in the directive, including the introduction of provisions to require reimbursement from payment service providers to victims of authorised push payment fraud. I have raised this issue with my officials. I am advised that the introduction of domestic legislation r…

The advice received from my officials at this point is that the best way of addressing this issue is through the review the European Commission is undertaking of PSD2, which it is expected will result in a new legislative proposal to bring forward PSD3. The Deputy has raised a valid point. I acknowledge that there is a gap here for the people who are directly affected. It is not provided for currently within PSD2. I will continue to work with my officials to find a way of ensuring that people who are affected by AP…

I thank the Deputy for her good wishes. I also thank her for submitting this question. The Government approved the publication of the retail banking review and the implementation of its recommendations on 29 November. Each recommendation identifies the body or bodies responsible for delivery of that recommendation and, in some cases, contains timelines for delivery of the recommendation, where appropriate. It is for the relevant bodies to consider and implement the recommendations addressed to them. Implementation …

I assure the Deputy that work is under way in my Department on these specific recommendations and the heads of a Bill on access to cash are currently being prepared. We will need to decide what level of access to cash it is appropriate to protect. I recognise it is an important issue for communities and small businesses and for ordinary citizens. We also intend to ensure automatic teller machine, ATM, operators are authorised and supervised by the Central Bank and to provide it with the responsibility and powers to…

We are seeing an evolution in the significant move towards digital payments. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated that. However, cash still has an important role to play in our society and economy. Insofar as is practicable, people have a right to use cash. Having said that, I am conscious that not every public body is in a position to accept cash in the provision of every public service. We must examine all of this and that is why I am committing to new legislation, the heads of which will be prepared this year. It w…

As the Deputy will be aware, in making any decision on VAT rates or other taxation measures, the Government must balance the costs of the measures in question against their impact and the overall budgetary framework. In the case of the tourism and hospitality sectors, an extension of the 9% VAT rate to the end of 2023 would cost more than €500 million. However, the Government recognises the challenging business environment the tourism and hospitality sectors are operating in and the role that these businesses play …

I thank all the Deputies for raising this issue. As has been said, the impact is not only on the tourism and hospitality sector. It also covers cinemas, theatres, hairdressers, historic houses, natural heritage facilities, open farms and amusement parks, to name a number of examples. We had to take a range of factors into account at a political level, not least the fact that if the VAT rate went back up on 1 March, it would inevitably have led to certain price increases. That would come at a time when we are trying…

The economic assessment recommends that the 9% rate be brought to an end. I have been clear about this in written parliamentary replies that I have provided in recent days. It fell to a political decision to be made as to when that would be executed. We have made the political decision that it will happen at the end of August. It is important that I am straight with the sector. The extension that has been provided is the final extension. The VAT rate will go back up to 13.5% on 1 September. I have no doubt the sect…