I absolutely understand the concerns of the many people who wish to access this scheme. I understand their level of need. I am now considering the consequences of the Supreme Court ruling on this matter. I have asked my officials to prepare options for me as to what we can do in respect of this scheme. I know many Deputies in this House represent constituents who, for entirely understandable reasons, feel that they should have access to this scheme. One of the reasons that so few changes have been made to it in the…

In his question, the Deputy acknowledged the challenges on which we need to reflect. This scheme is very valuable to those who participate in it. They deserve the value afforded by the scheme, which gives help to those who need it most. I need to ensure that, if any further changes are made to the scheme, it will continue to target a great deal of taxpayers' money at those who need it most while not becoming so broad as to become far bigger than originally intended. If the Deputy wants to send me details of the par…

Given all the work he has done in this area, the Deputy will be aware of what dual pricing is, so I will not go through the definition. As he himself has acknowledged, the Central Bank has now published the findings of a phase of its work in studying this practice in the Irish market. Our programme for Government includes a commitment to remove this practice from the market. I will be looking at the work the Deputy has done in this area and any legislation he may bring forward in that regard. That being said, the C…

The comparison with the FCA in the UK is interesting. The FCA began this work in October 2018. It has now published a final report. It was published this week along with a related consultation document. The FCA is inviting views on its consultation document up to 25 January 2021. The FCA has indicated that in the aftermath at some point next year it will publish a policy statement. That is the timeline for what is happening in the UK, as I imagine Deputy Doherty is aware. Deputy Doherty has been fair and accurate e…

The actual timeline is that the Central Bank report began in January and the report is now published. The bank has moved with speed on this issue. The Deputy compared our work to what is happening with the FCA. The FCA has taken longer to do this work. It has now published something that might lead to action next year. That is the timeline for what is happening elsewhere. The Central Bank has done this work across this year and within the year. I know the urgency of this issue. Equally, I know that while I am expec…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 32, 35 and 36 together. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council published its annual pre-budget statement on Wednesday, 16 September. As ever, this is valuable analysis and I welcome the council's contribution at an early stage of the budget process. It is also worth pointing out that around the same time, the Governor of the Central Bank wrote to me expressing broadly similar views to the council. The council noted that the macroeconomic outlook is exceptionally uncertain, with key risks…

On the scale of the stimulus and the role of capital spending, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, has committed to €9 billion of investment in capital projects next year. To put that in context, the figure at the start of the previous Dáil was between €3 billion and €4 billion. It is a huge increase on recent years. Unlike in other years when, due to our inability to fund public services, capital investment had to be cut back, the Minister, Deputy McGrath, earlier this year comm…

There are two points on that. I would be careful, as the Deputy acknowledged, about deriving a great deal of comfort from what has happened to national income growth because so much of the improved performance in national income has been driven by what has happened to our exports in a particular part of our economy. The reality of where we are is contained in the Deputy's point about what has happened to unemployment this year, which has, unfortunately, been in line with our fears of what could happen. While it is …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 271 to 273, inclusive, together. Consistent with the programme for Government, it is not the intention to increase the value of income tax credits or bands in budget 2021. I note, however, that the Deputy raised three separate but related issues regarding important measures in the tax code that support caring for people in vulnerable circumstances. Regarding the suggestion to extend eligibility for the home carer tax credit to include single workers, this credit was introduce…

I will definitely consider the different issues the Deputy has raised. I appreciate that in any tax credit such as this, that is targeted and that is looking to support those who are doing important work in our society and for their families and so on, anomalies can be generated by it at times and I will look at the issue the Deputy has raised. I want to make the point that, for example, if we were to raise the dependent relative tax credit to €3,300, it is estimated that the additional cost for that would be €194 …

The Deputy has pointed to a number of potential anomalies and issues, which she has explained to me in the question she has put forward. I have looked to explain why the tax credit is at the level it is and I have noted what the financial cost would be in any such change. As I have already said to the Deputy, I am acknowledging the financial cost involved in a change such as this. In doing that, I am not looking to diminish the incalculable value of those who are caring for those in their families or communities wh…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 41 together. I am aware of the reports that NatWest is engaged in a strategic review of its operations, including those of Ulster Bank Ireland. The Government has no formal role in such a review or in any commercial decisions that result as these are a matter for the board and management of the bank and its parent company, NatWest. I understand that the process is ongoing and that no decisions have been made. Therefore, I will not comment or speculate on possible outcomes as …

My exact wording was that I expect Ulster Bank to keep stakeholders, the Government and those who depend upon them for their jobs or for lending informed. Deputy Brendan Smith raising this question has given me the opportunity to make clear my expectation on that communication. As I did with the earlier question that was put to me, I want to acknowledge how valuable Ulster Bank is and will continue to be from an employment and a lending point of view within our country. I am well aware of the value of the role it p…

I thank Deputies Barry, Smith and Doherty for their questions. I have already contacted the parent bank, NatWest, to ascertain the status of the alleged reports. My contact with the bank has informed the answer I gave to Deputies this afternoon. As the process develops within NatWest, I will of course raise issues and perspectives that I have in this regard. I absolutely understand the concerns that employees will have at this point, not to mention the businesses that are depending on Ulster Bank for lending and in…

Payment breaks have provided substantial and rapid relief to allow homes and businesses to absorb the shock and impact of Covid-19. The expiry of the guidelines do not prevent banks from engaging with customers who continue to experience difficulty beyond the deadline and all applicable consumer protection remains in place. Borrowers who cannot return to full repayments following the conclusion of their payment break should engage with their lender as early as possible and the Central Bank expects lenders to take a…

The guidance from the European Banking Authority on the matter was that economy-wide payment breaks should not be extended. As of yet I am not aware if other governments or regulators have decided to extend further the measures they have in place. Comparing where we are versus other countries, those other countries have put in place very different arrangements. Superficially they may in some ways look more attractive but they are more limited and, in many cases, they have not seen the breadth of impact seen with th…

Deputy Doherty is referring to alleged inaction. As I pointed out to him earlier, payment breaks were made available in the first place because the Government took action. This has been a huge help to so many families and businesses at a time when it was needed. We have seen the number of people who need these payment breaks begin to decrease, quite considerably in the case of some banks. Engagement between borrowers and lenders is the key to reducing the risk of loans becoming non-performing in the future, leading…

The European Commission first proposed a digital services tax in early 2018. After a period of intensive technical and political discussions among member states, a revised proposal for a digital advertising tax was brought to ECOFIN in March 2019 but no agreement was reached there. It was subsequently agreed that member states would focus on supporting the ongoing discussions at OECD level on addressing the tax challenges of digitalisation. If the OECD work is successful in reaching consensus, pillar 1 of that work…

The question from the Deputy highlighted how challenging this environment will be. In last year's budget and much of the work that led up to it, I made the point that our corporate tax revenues, which have increased in recent years, will fall. The reason for that fall is highlighted in the question asked by the Deputy. If agreement is not reached, the risks related to double taxation will pose a direct challenge to the revenue we currently collect. If agreement is reached, it is very likely that there will also be …

That is the challenge we face. That agreement brings consequences, but agreement not being reached also brings consequences. The Deputy is correct in his summary of the matter. Several proposals are being put forward within the EU to generate what are called "own resources". They are, in essence, taxes the revenue from which goes back to the European Union. There are several such taxes that I believe we will be able to support, such as some of the proposals in favour of a plastics tax, but there are other proposals…