Very much so. As I said, we will continue to monitor the adequacy of the consumer protection code that is in place. I believe, however, that it is robust and that the Central Bank and other authorities will take very carefully their responsibilities to ensure that borrowers who find themselves in positions of distress receive the necessary information and are made aware of the options available to them. I appreciate the Deputy's acknowledgement of some of the changes that have taken place in our mortgage market rec…

It is worthwhile acknowledging, as the Deputy has done, that we have not seen recent decisions made that have led to abrupt changes to interest rates available. I agree, however, with one of the Deputy's points, that is, that in the time ahead it will continue to be important to monitor competitive changes within our marketplace. He is correct in acknowledging that because of the move in Ireland from a five-bank model to what will become a three-bank model, there will be a reduction in the number and diversity of m…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As he will know, the decision on the defective concrete products levy arose from the decision of November 2021 to respond to the great harm that has been caused to so many people, including many of the Deputy's constituents, due to the presence of mica in their homes and buildings. As part of the work undertaken on the impact the levy would have on the construction sector, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage commissioned a bottom-up scientif…

The Deputy talks about documents that follow but I want to go back to the document he published before budget day. I ask him again where it is now. I am asking him this because it concerns a key point. The reason I am making a case for the levy – conscious of all the risks the Deputy referred to, because I accept they exist – is that the greater risk would be to pretend to the country that there is money to meet every vital need, including the mica need, and that no consequences or risks would flow from this. I sta…

I did google the alternative budget on the way here. What came up was the alternative health budget. Maybe between my doing that and taking these parliamentary questions, all the Deputy's colleagues in the Balkans will be changing all the time. The alternative budget of the Deputy was not available this morning and is not available on his party's website.

To go back to the core point, of course I want to make money available to help all the poor families who have been affected by mica. I have met them, although I accept I have not met as many as the Deputy. Of course I want to make money available to help those who are affected by rising rents and the rising cost of living, but the money has to come from somewhere. The money has to be available.

If you are making the case for leading the Government and being responsible for public finances, you need to explain where the money is coming from.

If you do not, you are a source of risk-----

If you do not, you run the risk of inflicting on this economy and our jobs the kind of risk-----

I will keep coming back to the question of where the Deputy's budget is. Where has it gone? What has changed in the past few days?

It is anything but entertaining.

I thank Deputy Shortall. I am aware that she has been raising this issue for some time. I have little doubt at all that if I wanted to have a look at her budget proposals, they would be freely and publicly available. The vacant homes tax, VHT, is a new measure announced in budget 2023 that aims to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand. Further detail on this measure is set out in the Finance Bill, which was published on 20 October. As stated in my budget speech, this measure aims to incre…

I thank the Deputy very much. In deciding what the rate was going to be, I did, of course, consult with my colleagues and my officials on it. My judgment, based on the engagement that I had with them, was that a new charge that is multiples of an existing tax, is a proportionate and sufficient charge for the harm to the common good of homes that could have somebody living in them but do not. This must be seen in combination with other measures that are being brought in, for example, the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, wh…

A punitive tax of 10% would mean that the cost to such a property holder would be many thousands of euro. I look forward to hearing the Deputy make the case on Committee Stage of the Finance Bill. Regarding the charge she made about the level of vacant homes in the country, as she will be aware, the recent census indicated that there are 166,752 vacant homes nationwide. This is 7.8% of the housing stock. Many other studies indicate that the appropriate level of vacancy within any kind of functioning housing market …

I thank the Deputy very much. As she will be aware, the details of the new TBESS are set out in the Finance Bill, which will begin Committee Stage later today. The scheme will provide support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023. The TBESS will be available to tax-compliant businesses carrying on a trade or profession, the profits of which are chargeable to tax under case I or case II of Schedule D where they meet the eligibility criter…

I must be honest with the Deputy. We can help, in particular with the energy costs, but no government should give the indication to the people of Ireland and the economy that we can cover or insulate any business from all of the cost changes that are going on at the moment. I know the Deputy recognises that. While she was perhaps not calling on me to do it, she was putting the energy costs in the context of all of the other prices that are going up as well. I know the butcher's shop to which she referred. People wi…

Yes, very much so, and I fully appreciate the reality of what the Deputy outlined. I see this in small shops and businesses in my constituency, Dublin Central, and throughout the city of Dublin. I was in Mullingar on Friday evening and met many amazing local business people who employ so many people and are confronting the very kind of pressure the Deputy referred to. Of course, we will keep the scheme under review. The Tánaiste has also brought forward many different proposals and policies to help other energy use…

I thank the Deputy for raising the critical economic challenge we are now confronting. As he will be aware, consumer price inflation picked up sharply over the past year and in October stood at 9.6%. Almost every advanced country in the world is in the same position with, for example, inflation throughout our neighbours within the EU, and in particular among those countries that share the euro with us, reaching a record 10.7% in October. That our rate of inflation is slightly below the EU area average is going to b…

Indeed. The focus at European level is on trying to reduce the cost of energy, which, as the House will know, is an exceptionally complex and sensitive matter at a time the supply of energy in the first instance is so constrained and so low. That is the focus of considerable collective efforts within the EU because any change in the price of energy will have a significant impact on the rate of inflation we face. In Ireland, of course, the Departments of Finance and Enterprise, Trade and Employment will monitor what…

Yes, it will. In the various economic forecasts we conduct, which we will again revise in April, we will continue to monitor clearly where we are with inflation and what that means for our economy overall. While we expect a decrease in inflation rates in the economy for next year, it will be a decrease to only 6%, which, unfortunately, will have an impact on the living standards of our country and the ability of businesses to remain viable and to continue to employ citizens. It will be carefully monitored as the ye…