The existing vehicle tax structures in the State have a strong environmental rationale, with the more pollutant, fossil-fuelled cars paying higher rates of tax, between motor tax, benefit in kind, BIK, vehicle registration tax, VRT, and the nitrogen oxide, NOx, charge. In contrast, low-emission cars and electric vehicles, EVs, are subject to lower rates of tax. I know the Deputy will be aware of it but it I want to emphasise the point that our tax code already recognises the differing contributions that those vehic…

I appreciate the case the Deputy is making for the further support of EVs. It is interesting to see the growth that has taken place and I hope it will continue in the coming years as EV technology improves and as we do a better job of rolling out the charging network needed to facilitate those who use EVs. We have made reasonable progress but it is very obvious that we need to do even more, particularly in some cities, as Deputy Gogarty raised with me last week. I have outlined the different measures in place. I wi…

I will certainly take on board what the Deputy said and make sure officials in the Department consider it. I am not doubting for a single moment the impact of the various measures she has suggested or what they could do to enhance the further take-up of EVs. We will certainly consider all of that in the coming weeks and months. I do, however, need to relate it back to the broader environment we are in, which she very well understands. We are at a point at which we are seeing a very big change take place in the econ…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. Just to add to his point, the greatest challenge of all to the livelihoods of those he is raising today is if the changes that happened last night become bigger and permanent and if they fundamentally change how our global economy works. In order to see if we can avoid that happening, we need to have negotiation and engagement with the US, as the Deputy has acknowledged along with many other Deputies today. It is difficult to see how we get to that happening unless the European …

To reconfirm to the Deputy, we have already raised the different sectors within the economy. The food and beverage sectors he raised are a really important part of the communities he represents and contribute to his local economy. Those issues have been raised. The Tánaiste formally communicated with the Commission, I believe on Monday, on this, making the case on the food and beverages sector and aligning ourselves with other economies that have been affected in a similar way. To be candid with the Deputy, however…

I thank the Deputies for the questions they have raised. The very important companies Deputy Neville mentioned, Kerry Group and Intel, form an excellent example of making the case for trade because they are also present in the United States of America. They sell there and have a large presence there. I will, on behalf of the communities the Deputies represent and that other colleagues have raised, engage heavily within the EU. I outlined to the House earlier that a meeting of finance ministers of the European Union…

Property owners who are experiencing financial difficulty may avail of a wide range of flexible payment options in respect of current local property tax, LPT, liabilities and for any previous years. To answer the Deputy's question on those accessing it, the number is quite low: 0.6% of all taxpayers are accessing it across the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. Ahead of the revaluation in 2021, I reduced the interest that applied to deferred LPT from 4% to 3%. Given I reduced the rate last time, I do not propose to do so a…

To bring to life the figures and move them beyond percentages, the overall number of properties that accessed the deferral option was between 11,800 and 12,500, so it is indeed a low number. The Deputy made a point about the ability for LPT to be varied upward by 25%. One of the things I have learned from watching how this tax operates is this. I believe 25 out of 30 local authorities have increased their LPT beyond the base rate, but the average level of increase is 9%, which is a fair bit below the 15%. Many loca…

I referenced earlier the large number of significant employers clustered in particular parts of our country. This is, for want of a better phrase, because of the ecosystem and their ability to upskill people working in communities who then leave to go to employers in similar sectors located in similar parts of our country. There are some very large employers, and one in particular that Deputy McGrath is referring to. I absolutely understand that. The Government and I have engaged with individual employers on this. …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 15 together. The Single Market is the best answer we have to this. We are speaking about the need to grow trade to take the place of trade that may be lost. The best place to do this is on our own doorstep. We have on our doorstop this incredible creation, which Irish politicians and diplomats have spent decades trying to craft, which is the Single Market. We need to plough on with realising the potential it still offers. We also need to continue to remind and make the case t…

Deputy Geoghegan has laid out a compelling case, with which I agree, regarding Europe's place in the world and what we have built up in the Single Market and by means of the rule of law. The argument we need to make is that if people invest in Ireland and Europe, if they employ people in Europe and if they want to create new ideas and be entrepreneurs in Europe, they will do so in a very stable environment in which they can be clear about the rules of regulation, trade and taxation. We need to make the case for thi…

You cannot on one hand stand up and make the case for the value of the rules of this House and at the same time attempt to shout them down.

You cannot do that. You cannot on one hand talk about the value of the procedures of this House but be involved in heckling those who seek to implement them. You cannot talk about respect for the office of the Ceann Comhairle but at the same time look to abuse her and the way she has performed her functions. Finally, you cannot make the case for the importance of the orderly functioning of democracy and attempt on two different occasions to disrupt that orderly functioning in the way this country has not seen and i…

You cannot ride both horses together.

I noted what Deputy McDonald said earlier on, and again this is the behaviour. The same people who are only too happy to heckle and disrupt this House are the same people who stand up and make charges against this Government. Earlier on, Deputy McDonald said the Government, or indeed the Ceann Comhairle, was involved in behaviour to tear democracy apart. Really?

When you see the behaviour taking place elsewhere in the world that has that affect-----

-----how can you talk about the behaviour in the House in a way that is consistent with that? Deputy McDonald alleged the Ceann Comhairle demolished the rules of this House. Really?

How can you substantiate that? Perhaps, most chillingly-----

-----Deputy McDonald went on to say that the Ceann Comhairle's position is untenable-----

-----and the outcome of the vote does not change that. I do not happen to agree with Deputy Murphy too often but in his brief appearance earlier he put the question that there is more to democracy than majority rule and he is, of course, correct. A vital element of all of that is respect for rules, adherence to rules and adherence to them even when you might not agree.