You should tell them that you wanted to put it up by 8 cent.

You wanted to put it up by 8 cent in the month of April.

You wanted to put it up by 8 cent in the month of April.

You should be honest with them.

That is twice what the Government put it up by. That is what I mean when I say you should be honest with them.

There is no 20 cent difference.

Yes.

There is no 20 cent difference.

You just go around telling them all what they want to hear. That is what you do.

Chair, I am being provoked on a constant basis. The Deputy stood up and did not address the question that was here.

You are.

I thank the Deputy. At the outset, it has to be clarified that restrictive measures, or sanctions as they are generally referred to, are first and foremost, a policy intervention utilised by the EU in regard to Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP. As such, they are predominantly discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. As the Deputy is aware, Ireland is represented at the Foreign Affairs Council by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence. The Tánaiste attends meetings of the Council i…

As I said in my initial reply, the issue of sanctions is predominantly discussed and dealt with at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. As I said, when the issue of sanctions is discussed at ECOFIN, it is within the context of the economic impact of the European Union. The political decision to impose sanctions for the reasons the Deputy has outlined is not one that would be led by ECOFIN. As the Deputy is aware, the Government has been very clear on what is happening in the Middle East. The Government has repeatedly an…

I thank the Deputy. Regarding the Private Members' legislation to which the Deputy referred, it is appropriate that there would be pre-legislative scrutiny by the committee. I understand that has now been concluded. I look forward to the report being completed and furnished. It will be given early consideration. I note the Deputy's welcome of the decision of the NTMA regarding the divestment of certain assets, which was publicly notified in recent days. The point I am making is that when it comes to foreign policy …

I thank the Deputy. As he knows, mortgage interest tax relief, in the form of a mortgage interest tax credit, is a one-year temporary relief available to homeowners with an outstanding mortgage balance on their principal private residence of between €80,000 and €500,000 on 31 December 2022. It is available at the standard rate of income tax and is based on the increase in the interest paid in 2023 over interest paid in 2022. The value of the relief is equal to the lesser of 20% of this excess interest amount or a m…

As I said, more than 17,000 taxpayer units have made a claim for this credit so far. In excess of €14 million has been paid out and that number is increasing all the time. It is relatively straightforward to make a claim. I encourage all those who are eligible for this credit to make a claim through the PAYE Anytime system online as quickly as they can. It is a non-refundable tax credit. The system the Deputy is referring to is akin to the old system, where tax relief was provided at source, and when designing this…

The system that has been put in place is straightforward. Many thousands of mortgage holders have been in a position to claim this credit so far. Many more are eligible to do so and I encourage them to make their claim. People have up to four years to make the claim, but I expect the number will continue to grow. The Deputy's fundamental point is the tax credit is not refundable in nature and should have been implemented similar to the previous mortgage interest tax relief, and that is an option I explored with the…

The Deputy has raised the importance of policies designed to support individuals in retirement. As both career paths and the shape of life after retirement change, Government policies need to continue to align with the needs of retirees. Pensions have their own special treatment within the tax system to encourage these preparations. Ireland operates an exempt-exempt-taxed system. Contributions to pensions, within certain limits, are exempted from income tax, pension fund gains are exempted from income tax and incom…

I thank the Deputy. Those are all important issues he raised. Tax policy can play an important role in supporting wider public policy objectives, and when it comes to vacant bedrooms, for example, and the spare capacity that is there, we have the rent-a-room relief scheme and there is already a generous CGT relief for a principal private residence. Nevertheless, again, if the Deputy has any ideas or proposals, we will be more than happy to look at them. I agree with him about having a system that is as flexible for…

When it comes to employment, we have made important progress. There are complexities where you have an existing contract of employment in place in the private sector that specifies a retirement age that is mandatory in nature at a certain point in time. However, beyond the existing contracts, it will be possible to make change and I know that is a policy area the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is focused on. We have a lot of issues that have to be considered when it comes to the changing demographic…