-----to make a meaningful difference to those homeowners who have been affected by such a grave difficulty.

I thank the Deputy for raising the appalling incident in question. My first thoughts go to the cyclist involved. I am sure we all send our hopes and best wishes to the person who was subject to this crime. Our hope is that the person will make a speedy recovery from what looks to have been an appalling incident. The Deputy raised the issue with regard to the commitment of the Government to making a difference in respect of this matter. I can answer his final question directly and state that the Government has full …

I understand exactly the issues that the Deputy is raising. When I go into Garda stations in my constituency, in the communities that I am lucky and privileged to represent, including Store Street, Bridewell, Mountjoy, and Cabra Garda stations, I see the immense work they do. They are public servants who are out first thing in the morning and last thing at night, frequently putting themselves on the front line and at risk to keep the rest of us safe. In addition to all of that, they do positive work to look after c…

I will take that matter, if I may. The Revenue Commissioners are responsible for the roll-out of the scheme, and I am working closely with the Tánaiste's Department on the design of the scheme. We hope we will very shortly be in a position to announce that the scheme is open. It is not possible for oil to be included in the scheme because we depend so much on the metering mechanisms available to monitor in particular the price of electricity, from which we then calculate the subsidy or support that will be availabl…

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I will speak to the amendments as a group and respond to all of them. A number of amendments have been grouped together, covering a report on the abolition or replacement of USC, as submitted by Deputies from People Before Profit and the Rural Independent Group, and a report from the introduction of a 43% income tax rate on individuals earning over €100,000 as put forward by the Social Democrats. A number of significant issues arise from the proposals. For example, they i…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 10, line 22, to delete “on or before 30 September 2022”. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has implemented a scheme of once-off payments to the value of €3,000 to each individual whose incorrect birth registration has been confirmed by or to Tusla. The payment is to be provided on an ex gratia basis without any inference or otherwise of any liability or legal obligation. It is intended as a contribution towards costs related to an incorrect birth …

I move amendment No. 5: In page 10, after line 38 to insert the following: “Exemption in respect of payments under Covid-19 Death in Service Ex-Gratia Scheme for Health Care Workers 4. Chapter 1 of Part 7 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 192L (inserted by section 3 ): “Exemption in respect of payments under Covid-19 Death in Service ExGratia Scheme for Health Care Workers 192M. (1) In this section, ‘qualifying payment’ means a payment made by or on behalf of th…

I have passed this matter on to the Minister for Health and I know he is directly aware of the interest in this matter. However, it is a matter for the Minister for Health rather than for the Finance Bill. I will again make sure the Department of Health is aware of this matter.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 11, to delete lines 15 and 16 and substitute the following: “(a) in subsection (1)— (i) by the insertion of the following definition: “ ‘Act of 2021’ means the Affordable Housing Act 2021;”, (ii) in the definition of “qualifying period”, by the substitution of “2024” for “2022”, and (iii) in the definition of “qualifying residence”— (I) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “dwelling,” for “dwelling, or”, (II) in paragraph (b), by the insertion of “or” after “converted for as use …

I will respond to the proposal made by Deputy O'Donnell. As he will be aware, the Department has conducted a thorough review of the help-to-buy scheme. I appreciate the further point he raised. My officials and I received the paper he submitted and we will, of course, give it consideration. He knows the issue we grapple with, however, in that I accept there is an issue with the so-called deadweight effect of the help-to-buy scheme. A key factor driving that is the level of the loan-to-value ratio. If there is a cha…

In my earlier contribution, I said my objective was to increase supply. The record of the Dáil will show whether or not I gave a commitment here this evening to reduce prices. I do not believe I did. What I said was that the aim of Government policy is to increase supply. I believe that increasing supply over time will lead to a reduction in the price pressure that is there and is having such an effect on tenants and people looking to buy their first home. The objective of the Government is first and foremost to in…

Do Deputies see the typical approach here from Deputy Doherty? What he does is create the impression that I, as Minister, have an approach that is all about driving up rents at the expense of tenants. The Deputy asks me or suggests that I have some figures in my mind regarding how much I want rents to go up by and creates the impression that I am not sympathetic or aware of the challenges faced by so many who cannot afford their rent and are worried about the future. I understand why Deputy Doherty will make those …

-----and, in fact, in the face of the track record that some of the policies he is advocating have been bad for supply and bad for making more rental accommodation available. I understand why the Deputy makes that claim. I will reassert that in many of the different debates that Deputy Doherty and I have, I do not make the case about what the Deputy's intentions are and what he is looking to do because I approach this debate on the basis of good faith that the Deputy is looking to make a difference. Time and again,…

-----by saying that I have a goal in relation to how much I would want rents to go up.

That is typical. We have more evasion from the Deputy.

He says I am thinking about what I want to do based on how rents go up.

There he goes. He just said it again.

I am clear on what I am looking to do.

I thank the Acting Chairman. What I am looking to do here, conscious of the big challenge and need that so many face at present, is to build more homes and make more rental accommodation available. I appreciate that it is taking time and it will take time for these measures to be felt and to have the effect I want to see. While I accept the evidence is not fast enough for many, we are seeing more and more new homes being built. There were 27,417 new homes commenced up to September. A total of 44,715 homes have plan…

Whether it is San Francisco or Berlin, or even in the debate taking place regarding the implementation of a rent freeze in Scotland, the warnings are clear. Of course it delivers a benefit to those in rental accommodation who need support but it will deter the supply of more rental accommodation in future. This is why, even though I can understand its attraction, such a measure would lead to less rental accommodation being available. By doing this, in turn it will lead to higher rents. We have measures in the renta…