I think it is incumbent to state that quite a number of us in the Chamber are active members of trade unions and would personally benefit from that financially, and I am one of those. Senator Gavan and I have debated the benefits of trade union membership many times previously. I do not think I was ever found wanting on that, which is why I was quite taken by some of these comments. I could talk about the transposition of European directives at length, but I know that Senator Higgins raised that with the current Mi…

We are in a political Chamber but not necessarily in a party-political Chamber.

That is why I am saying we should remove the emotion in the politics concerning what was a very serious suggestion by Senators Gavan and Warfield. What was referred to was done before. The rationale outlined very clearly by Senator Higgins has merit in the context of the overall rationale for what is being aimed at, but what she desires is not going to be achieved by this measure. That is why it is important to make my point in this debate.

It is important to come back in on this. There will be wider debates on the directive, and the House had one this morning. Such a debate is important but we are here to speak about the actualities of the Finance Bill and the costs as opposed to wider signals and motives. We are bringing into a debate an emotive aspect that is out of place here. We have had the discussion-----

If the language is not acceptable to the Senator, I will correct it. This is a very serious debate but we are bringing in a secondary debate on the specifics of the request for a report and a recommendation that I know is made by the trade union movement every year. I have met the movement’s representatives, read the proposal and have said I would happily benefit personally to the tune of €1.20 per week, but the Senator is talking about public policy when I am talking about the rationale for why it is deemed that t…

I will send all three reports to the Senator.

I will speak to the two specific points as I know the Senator has had a good discussion with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, already. On the issue of the introduction of refundable tax credits, they could potentially prove to be very costly and provide relatively little benefit to the majority of individuals, including those working full-time and earning at least the national minimum wage, because such workers generally fully utilise their tax credits. Furthermore, refundable tax credits could also have potential be…

I will briefly mention two things in a potentially less negative response than usual but couched in the fact that, ultimately, we will not be accepting this recommendation. Obviously, those of us with young children know that Isofix is often an influence in getting a larger car, unfortunately, for many of us. A weight-based tax was discussed as part of this year’s tax strategy group paper on energy and vehicle taxation. The example of France, as cited by the Senator, as well as Norway, were looked at in this contex…

It should be noted that the Bill provides for an increase to the rate of the vacant home tax from five times to seven times the property's existing base local property tax rate. This is not exactly a move which one would associate with someone who does not like taxing vacancy, but that is exactly what is being done. The residential zoned land tax is a new tax introduced in the Finance Act 2021 which seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of residential development on lands which are suitably…

The vacant homes tax is only one part of a much broader suite of measures. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage launched a vacant homes action plan in January 2023 and a progress update was published in April. This document outlines the progress that has been made in addressing vacancy, along with the actions being pursued to return as many vacant and derelict properties as possible to viable use. This is about using the carrot as well as the stick. The vacant property refurbishment grant has see…

There is no basis for that comment, Deputy.

I was down there two weeks ago.

I welcome the opportunity to respond to the issues raised. I acknowledge the protests which came to Dublin yesterday and I believe I met all of the representative bodies many times in dealing with this, including the local businesses in my own community. I would like to acknowledge the role of the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Ring, in introducing the 9% VAT rate originally at a very difficult time for the sector, which he, as the then Minister of State, represented in government and the impact it had on the enti…

I thank all Senators for their constructive engagement on this Bill but particularly Senator Casey, who led off for the Government in the Upper House. I thank Senators for facilitating the Bill's timely passage. I know from our previous discussion on Second Stage that, as was the case in the Dáil, there is broad support for the provisions of the Bill to ensure that injured parties will get their just compensation in a timely manner. The Bill represents an important step in enhancing protection for motor insurance p…

This is a good budget for every household in the country and for every individual. As a Minister of State in the Department of Finance, it gives me great pleasure to rise to commend this budget to the House but also to speak to the conditions that have allowed us to deliver a good budget. The conditions of our economy do not happen by accident. They are not some fluke, as some people would imply. This is the product of over a decade of prudent, sensible, financial management in the face of serious issues. This was …

Respectfully, the Deputy can interject thereafter. We have a situation now where we set two funds up recently that will enable us to plan for the future. More than €15 billion will be invested in those funds to ensure that when we need that support, or when the economic tides change globally or indeed domestically, that we have those funds not only to dip into but also to invest and generate a return for future generations. This is an ambitious budget for an ambitious country that knows we can and will continue to …

I am delighted to appear before the Seanad to discuss budget 2025 following its presentation earlier today to Dáil Éireann. As has been evident in recent years, we are living in a more shock-prone world - Brexit, a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living crisis led to rates of inflation not seen in decades. However, despite these challenges, we have an economy that is operating at effective full employment. There are 2.7 million people at work in this country, more than Ireland’s entire population …

That was eight years ago.

I thank the Senators present for their timely and very detailed contributions. I thank the Acting Chair for his contributions in the lead-up to the budget. I acknowledge his personal commitment as Government spokesperson on enterprise, trade, and employment and the positive contribution he made. There are one or two issues I wish to address before responding to Senators. A lot of people have talked about this budget having something for everyone but nothing for anyone. That is utterly false. This budget is first an…

Someday, indeed. I pay particular credit to Senator Conway. He did not mention his own advocacy on the blind tax credit, in co-operation with his Seanad nominating body, Vision Ireland, formerly NCBI. I know this is of personal importance to the Senator. His continual advocacy in this House for those who are visually impaired in society does not go unnoticed. It is really important. Senator Dolan asked how it is possible to future-proof these budgets to make sure they are not temporary. We have gone from a situatio…