That is another constructive suggestion from the Deputy. We evaluated what opportunities there were for supporting local spend and supporting activity in local shops which, as the Deputy stated, have had a very, very difficult year this year. It was in recognition of the challenges retailers faced that the Government in the July jobs plan lowered the standard rate of VAT. As the Deputy will be aware, that was aimed at trying to give small and medium-sized retailers additional profitability and additional support if…

The short answer is that to deal with that matter I have brought forward an amendment to the Finance Bill to provide for the existing medical criteria in primary legislation and I hope it will be accepted by the House on Report Stage next week. That will allow the continuation of the issuing of certificates once the Bill is passed. This is only an interim solution. On Committee Stage, I confirmed that we will open a review of the operation of the scheme to deal with all of the issues relating to the scheme that are…

When the Bill is enacted, it will allow for assessments to recommence in circumstances where the legal basis for such assessments is clarified. The Deputy asked why this is only being done now. The answer is that it must be done by means of amendment through a finance Bill. Finance Bills are progressed at budget time, so I had to await the opportunity of this year's Finance Bill to make the change. That is what I have done. On the issue of any delay in the ratification of the Finance Bill, as the Deputy will be awa…

The Deputy speaks with real pedigree regarding emergency legislation that he voted for being brought in. He voted for some of the legislation that had the most damaging effect on the State and burdened generations to come with the debt with which we are still dealing. I do not know where in my statement he got any hint of harshness. I think he must have been distracted and looking at something else because I said that I recognised how important this scheme is and that it is made available for those who need it the …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 77 together. The introduction of any new State-supported savings measures would normally be considered as part of the annual budgetary and finance Bill processes. Given that precautionary saving is likely to have increased as a result of the pandemic, the need for the State to encourage further saving or introduce any State-backed investment scheme is not clearly established at this time. Regarding the existing State savings offering, the NTMA, through State savings projects,…

The Deputy has raised an incredibly important point. The reason we have had a higher level of public spending in place is to coincide exactly with the huge reduction in private spending, consumption and investment which has, in turn, been mirrored by the increase in savings to which he referred. When we get into a situation where those savings begin to be released into our economy, we will then have decisions to make about what is the appropriate level of public spending that will be needed. The public spending we …

The Tánaiste launched a very important initiative yesterday, the Look for Local campaign, which encourages consumers to be aware of the opportunities to spend with local business. The Deputy made the important point that in a open economy such as ours, it is possible that when people start spending again, the money may be spent to the benefit of businesses other than those involved in providing employment and creating income in our country. There is a flip side to that argument, which is that the same high level of…

I thank the Deputy for recognising the value of the CRSS. I will comment first on its national performance, after which I will provide the information requested by the Deputy in respect of his constituency. The registration system for the CRSS was released by Revenue on 1 November. Up to 26 November 2020, 10,200 businesses had registered for the scheme in respect of 11,100 business premises. Revenue has informed me that a further 3,700 applications are being processed. To put those figures in context, at the very e…

I can give the Deputy further information about his constituency in the context of how the counties are drawing down the other supports he mentioned. Looking at Offaly and Laois collectively, there are now 379 employers participating in the employment wage subsidy scheme. There are 4,056 employees of those 379 employers participating in the scheme. I raise that because that is the other way in which we are trying to help, for example, the suppliers to whom Deputy Cowen refers. In terms of expanding the eligibility …

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. A similar matter was raised with me yesterday in the Dáil. The employment wage subsidy scheme, in particular, is supporting businesses that have every prospect of being viable again in the future. We all hope that opportunity for viability will come sooner rather than later. That is why implementing public health guidance is so important. I recently met all the CEOs of the banks, as I regularly do. It would be helpful if Deputy Cowen would give me the details of the busin…

A fundamental principle of the capital acquisitions tax, CAT, regime is that inheritance or gift tax is levied on the beneficiary and that the level of taxation is determined according to his or her relationship with the disponer. The reason for this approach is that the capital being transferred has not been earned by the beneficiary and the effective taxation of windfall capital is an important tool for addressing income and wealth inequality. There are a number of generous reliefs and exemptions to CAT available…

We are in the annual process of passing the Finance Bill and Report Stage will be taken in the House next week. I have indicated that I do not have plans to change the thresholds to which Deputy Naughten refers in the Finance Bill. It is important that I am open about that to the House. I do not believe that such changes are currently merited given the huge pressure that we are under to pay for a level of public service that the country now needs in the context of our battle with Covid-19. The reliefs are always ke…

Deputy Naughten raises an important matter in regard to care. The care that people provide to other family members is indispensable to those families and also allows the State to look after those who are vulnerable, in particular those who are elderly and vulnerable. I have concerns about making changes to a scheme that does provide such a significant amount of additional relief under the favourite niece and nephew scheme for the reasons I have already outlined. However, the Deputy raises an interesting point which…

I acknowledge all the work Deputy Nash has done in raising the interests of the arts sector. It is an area that he and I both feel very strongly about. We look forward to the point at which we will be able to enjoy live music gigs again. We truly appreciate the value of live performance when we are not able to enjoy it in the way we were in the past. I recognise the work done by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, in this area. She has been extremely innovat…

Yes, I will raise this matter. I am aware that forbearance measures are being made available to the arts sector, but I did think that they were being made available in a manner that was typical of what happened with motor insurance earlier in the year. My understanding is that this was not being done through a common forbearance decision, but that it was being dealt with on a business-by-business basis. I understood more progress was being made than Deputy Nash has indicated. On the back of the Deputy raising this …

We have a while to go on that yet but I hope they will be able to do that with as low a level of debt as possible. I will get back to Deputy Nash on the matter.

I assure Deputy Nash that we are trying to get the balance right between the absolute imperative of keeping citizens safe and healthy and recognising the deep and intrinsic value of culture. Such culture includes live performances and museums. I look forward to the day, for example, when schoolchildren can go into our museums again and we can have Irish and international artists performing in venues, particularly in smaller venues, presenting the art that is so special to us all. We have important decisions to make…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter. My Department has been participating in whole-of-government preparations for Brexit since before the UK referendum in 2016 and, in line with the Government's overall approach, it has intensified work ahead of the end of the transition period on 31 December. Without prejudging the outcome of ongoing negotiations between the EU and the UK, the central scenario underlying budget 2021 assumes the transition period ends without agreement. Budget 2021 provides €3…

I will do so and I thank the Deputy again for raising a very important matter. I assure him that the Department of the Taoiseach and all of us in the Government are working in an integrated and very careful way to ensure we can access our fair share - a good share - of the Brexit adjustment reserve fund that the Deputy refers to. I am now familiar with these kinds of negotiations and the claims and counter-claims that can arise in them. I further assure him that the effort and diplomacy we have demonstrated over th…

Matters relating to customs policy and procedures are dealt with at a central level by the European Union and we have requirements we need to uphold as the UK formally becomes a third country. I know the EU will try to ensure the rolling out and introduction of new customs procedures will be done in a way that is proportionate and will reduce the adverse effect on businesses that are trading from the Union. On the other hand, the EU and Ireland must also ensure the integrity of the Single Market is protected. It is…