Of the decisions made by the Government on the business support package, the ones that are likely to impact on our deficit position for this year relate to where we are with the restart grant and the rates waiver. While, of course, hundreds of millions of euro is a considerable amount of money those decisions of themselves only move us beyond that €23 billion figure by that amount. However, I believe it is inevitable that further decisions will have to be made in the coming weeks on, for example, income supports an…

Yes. In the meeting we had with the banks we put that to them. However, a number of them had already indicated that an extension to the time by which the loan could be repaid might be a better way for some loan owners to deal with the issue of the management of the repayment of debt. I am not aware at the moment of any bank that is not complying with that. If it is the case, and it may well be, prompted by the question the Deputy has put to me, I would certainly be interested in getting the information from him. Th…

I am aware of the matter and I have seen the work that has been done on it, in particular by the Irish Examiner , which has been examining this issue. My view is that participation in the wage subsidy scheme should not be a reason for treating an applicant in a different way. What I expect to happen is that if somebody's income has come down as a result of what has happened with Covid-19, the banks will assess whether that person will be in a position to repay the loan in the future. It would be appropriate, if the…

This issue gained some prominence a few days after the wage subsidy scheme was launched. I acknowledge the co-operation of this House in allowing the passage of the wage subsidy scheme such that we now have over 400,000 citizens depending on a job because of that wage subsidy scheme and over 50,000 employers. In its absence, our live register and pandemic unemployment payment recipient figures would be even higher. I will use this opportunity to restate what I said at the time, namely, that the payment of the subsi…

The Revenue Commissioners have indicated that this tax liability will be dealt with very carefully and over a number of years.

Does the Ceann Comhairle want me to respond to Deputies McGuinness and Lahart?

To respond to Deputy Lahart first, I met Insurance Ireland a fortnight ago. I met the CEOs of all the insurance companies earlier in the year but that was pre-Covid. I have met the Alliance for Insurance Reform and I plan to meet both the alliance and Insurance Ireland again in the coming weeks. My message to the insurance sector is that there was no difference between advice the Government gave for companies to consider trading on public health grounds and a mandate for them to close. We were very clear that the g…

It was because of the legislation that I was able to make the change I did to the level of subsidy that would be available for participants in the wage subsidy scheme at different levels of income. The decision I made then, by offering guidance to the Revenue Commissioners, did not change the eligibility criteria for the scheme or the number of people who were able to access the scheme and the reasons for so doing. It influenced the rates for groups and citizens already on the scheme. If I could have given a clear …

Before I answer the question, I will respond to the Deputy's assertion on the answer I gave a moment ago. It sometimes seems that Sinn Féin thinks it is the only party that can make political points about anything. What I was saying to the Deputy was reaffirming what Sinn Féin heard from the Revenue Commissioners. It is my intention that all people will be treated equally under this legislation. I explained why this issue has developed and I made clear my desire to see if there is a way to deal with it. My approach…

Yes, indeed. I congratulate Deputy Ryan on her speech. I cannot give her information now as to what the future plans are for the status of that branch - it is not a decision I make - but I will certainly correspond with the bank and relay its answer back to her. Regarding the points Deputy Conway-Walsh made, the Central Bank has now engaged directly with the insurance industry on many of the matters to which she referred. The Central Bank has written to the CEOs of all the major insurers and stressed to them that c…

We remain, and I hope the next Government will remain, committed to many of the projects in Project Ireland 2040. We will have to look at allocations for capital and for particular projects, not just because of the direct effect of Covid on where we are but also because of some of the issues Deputy McGuinness has raised. I remain committed to projects that are there, but the new Government will have to conduct a review of where we are with the development plan and look at whether the current level of resources set …

My thanks to the Deputies for the questions they have raised. I will begin with the point that was brought to me by Deputy O'Donnell on how money from the European recovery fund will be allocated. The European Commission will perform an independent assessment regarding how countries have been affected by Covid-19. I would expect that included in the criteria will be the mortality levels within particular countries, the level of income those countries have per head of population and any fall across that period. The …

I thank the Deputy for all of her questions. I will do my best to work through each of them in turn. The Deputy asked me to identify the areas of agreement between us. The point she made regarding this crisis being very different-----

I am going to get off to a good beginning with Deputy Hourigan, which I hope I will be able to continue with Deputy Howlin. Deputy Hourigan's description of this crisis is very accurate. It is very different from what has happened before in that it is happening in Ireland and across the world because of a public health decision that governments have taken and citizens are complying with. It is so different from where we have been before. The Deputy also made a point regarding how savings have gone up and by how qui…

I will answer all the questions the Deputy has put to me. I do want to say-----

That is great. I wish to make one point. I saw Deputy Howlin having to deal with many of these issues in this House from 2011 onwards. The ability of our country to borrow in the way we are able to now is in no small way attributable to the work the Deputy did when he was in my job for a number of years. I want to acknowledge that because I know the consequences he has faced as a result of the decisions he made. I have looked to build on his work. If he had been told in 2011 that our country would be able to borrow…

Lots of it does, but we are in a very different place from where we were a decade ago. Regarding the engagement I and the Government have had on this issue, Deputy Howlin might be aware that some weeks ago the Taoiseach and I signed a letter and an article supporting a recovery fund. I did that because, while nearly all of the time I am very much aligned with my Dutch colleagues, for example, regarding issues such as taxation and the responsibility we have for our own budgetary affairs, I genuinely believe - and De…

For how it will be allocated? In fairness, it needs to be allocated primarily on the basis of those countries that have suffered the most from this disease with loss of life and loss of income. That means there is a group of countries that are more likely, therefore, to benefit from it. That is in our interests as well. If we do not do that, we will exit this crisis at some point with countries growing further apart. If that happens, it will pose a major question for the European project and as a small open trading…

We have much work ongoing on this issue. Again, I am strongly in favour - as was Deputy Howlin - of good, strong management of our semi-State companies by those who run them. They are dealing, however, with circumstances they played no role in triggering. Regarding the larger issues developing, there is no doubt there is a challenge concerning public transport. I support what the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, said some days ago concerning our desire and need to support public transport. It …

The issue raised by the Deputy was put to me in the course of considering how we will deal with this matter. If we cannot find another way of dealing with it, my preference is for it to be dealt with as a tax policy or administration matter. Changes in other areas of policy, such as the length of maternity leave, may cause other issues that would need to be considered. This is an important and pressing matter for many. If there is a way to deal with it through the administration of our tax code, my preference would…