I completely understand the issue that Deputy has raised. I again recognise the concern that many people have who have not seen their incomes change. The Deputy made a crucial point about citizens moving on to the income support wage subsidy scheme. In many cases, their income has not changed, which is one of the reasons we brought in the scheme. Even though the income has not changed, I am aware of the issue to which the Deputy is referring. I hope that the clarification given by the banks makes progress on that m…

I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 7 and 67 together. The Government recognises the key role that credit unions play in the delivery of financial services to local communities across Ireland, the need for which is now heightened. Credit unions account for approximately one third of the consumer credit market and are well positioned to provide credit to support our recovery. The economic outlook arising by virtue of Covid-19, including reduced demand for new lending, has incr…

I will comment briefly on the question about a new Act. I am not going to give a commitment now on new legislation until I know what the legislation would be needed for and its role. However, I am open to any changes that I believe can play a positive role in supporting the role of the credit union movement in Ireland. Deputy Nash touched on two points that I accept. The first is the really important social and community role that members of the credit union movement play throughout the country. The second is the f…

I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I will absolutely do my best to live up to my responsibility as Eurogroup president and to fulfil the mandate I have been given. Deputy O'Sullivan put a question to me. I hope in the coming days to receive a report that will consider several of the issues the Deputy has touched upon. The Deputy asked about the relationship between the regulator and the credit union movement. There are always issues in the relationship between any part of our economy that is being regulated an…

Decisions on any individual products, such as the product Deputy O'Sullivan has referred to, are a matter for the regulator and the Central Bank. I am aware of work that the credit union movement is doing on this and on several other exciting ideas. I will find out the status of that product and I will report back to Deputy O'Sullivan on it.

I should make clear to the House that the issue Deputy Naughten has raised is frequently raised with me in my constituency and elsewhere. Currently, there are no tax incentive measures specifically targeted at the providers of student accommodation. Section 50 of the Finance Act 1999 provided for a student accommodation scheme whereby expenditure incurred on student rental accommodation could be set against the rental income from the property and against other Irish rental income, thereby reducing the taxable incom…

I am being very clear that the tax relief that is probably at the source of the kind of support to which the Deputy referred was terminated in 2008. It is now gone from the tax code. There are currently no further tax exemptions available for the development of purpose-built student accommodation. It is a serious matter. The Ministers for Education and Skills and Housing, Planning and Local Government have sought to make progress on this issue. If the Deputy thinks I may be able to help him to deal with specific is…

The level of support the two Deputies are referring to involve the breadth and speed that have made such a difference in protecting our country at a time of significant risk to jobs and our public health. When claims are being made about the future of those supports, let us also acknowledge that those supports were introduced by this and the previous Governments and have saved jobs and protected incomes at a time our country was at significant risk. I listened to the suggestions put forward by the Deputies regardin…

The very reason the temporary wage subsidy scheme was introduced was to protect jobs and income. It has had a massive effect in doing that. It is possible that employers, because of the financial circumstances they are in and concerns they might have about their viability, may work with their employees in efforts to protect the future of their company and the jobs of people working in that company. They may ask them to take voluntary pay cuts or to make changes to their work arrangements to protect jobs and protect…

The purpose of this scheme is to protect jobs. That was the overriding objective I faced at the time that I introduced it. It is possible that companies are reducing the wages they are paying their staff because their revenue has gone down, they have lost clients and they are worried they might not be around tomorrow. That is the reality facing those who are working in those companies at the moment and those who own them. They are worried about their future and whether their company will still be around. Those peop…

I am aware this is a matter of concern to many who are participating in the TWSS. Even at the very point the TWSS was launched, I and the Revenue Commissioner were at pains to make this point clear. I will answer the specific questions Deputy Doherty put to me. At the end of 2020 Revenue will have all available information for each employee who received TWSS payments. Revenue will also have details of any pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, made by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The pay…

That is a very helpful suggestion because I am aware of the concern with regard to this matter. It is worth making the point that the whole purpose of this scheme being brought in is to keep a job, and the reason the payments in respect of it need to be taxed is that most social welfare payments are, in principal, taxable. It is important to maintain fairness in how income supports that are being made available for the State are taxed or are not taxed. To deal with the substantive point the Deputy made, it is a goo…

It is precisely because I understand that so many are suffering with costs relating to crèches, paying their mortgages and worries about their income that we brought in the wage subsidy and PUP schemes. When the Deputy refers to the anxieties of citizens and taxpayers, that is what motivated me, the previous Government and this one to bring in both schemes. I am concerned about the Deputy's suggestion to set a maximum amount that could be due in dealing with tax liabilities under the TWSS because some participants …

That is also something that the Revenue Commissioners will want to look at but the answer I gave to the Deputy earlier is that the Revenue Commissioners will be flexible in how they implement this. He made the point, which I have often seen reported, about the concerns of those on low-incomes. While it is the case, I hope, by the scheme working that if a tax liability is generated for the future, it will be small. I am aware that small tax liability could form a large share of that person's income. I absolutely und…

It is due to my work, and work that was done by the banks, that the payment breaks are in place in the first place. These are 160,000 payment breaks. That means there are tens of thousands of mortgage holders availing of these breaks. I want to ensure that if this issue develops across this year, we are not in a position that any additional profit is being made from this and that these payment breaks and, in particular, the point at which mortgage holders exit from them, are dealt with carefully and fairly. There a…

What I have done to support those who are facing the kind of pressures that the Deputy is referring to includes the wage subsidy scheme, the introduction of the PUP, the support that has been made available to companies to keep them in operation to keep them trading across that period. That is the track record of this Government and the work that I have done. The payment breaks that have been brought in that are of support to tens of thousands of mortgage holders are a result of work that the Government and the Cen…

I became aware of the clarified guidance from the European Banking Authority, EBA, on this matter shortly after it issued. That is when I became aware of it.

I cannot remember the exact date but I became aware of it when it was published by the European Banking Authority. In dealing with the banks, I have made it very clear that it is critical that this period, when Covid is having such a great effect on the lives and incomes of our citizens, not be used as an opportunity to make additional profit. When we see the financial statements which the banks are to make available in a number of weeks' time - I am basing this on guidance offered by other companies - we will see …

I do not fully understand the allegation Deputy Doherty is making but I have stated again and again in responding to questions this morning-----

My guiding interest in all of this is to protect and support the tens of thousands of families who are under pressure as a result of this pandemic. My track record in all of this is clear. I answered the Deputy's question regarding when I became aware of the engagement between the Central Bank of Ireland and the European Banking Authority earlier on. At that meeting, the banks made clear their understanding of the guidance that had been issued by the European Banking Authority. I knew that our Central Bank was enga…