What I have done on many occasions is outline the issues an additional taxation measure on the energy sector in Ireland would result in. I have made clear that the additional revenue such a measure could gain would be needed but I have also outlined a number of other factors we have to balance that against, such as the impact it would have on jobs and future investment in Ireland and the impact it could have on the supply and functioning of our energy markets, which matter to the economic growth of the country. The…

The Eurogroup does not deal with proposals relating to the functioning of the energy market. That sits with the Council of Ministers that deals with energy, on which we are represented by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. Our perspective on those kinds of proposals is that we wanted to ensure they did not create any unknown or new difficulties on top of what we already have. The Deputy made reference to what I said on the issue on 4 May. What has changed since then is that the prices now…

The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was an independent group that was established in April 2021 as a result of a commitment in the programme for Government. It was asked to consider independently how best the taxation and welfare systems can support economic activity and promote increased employment and prosperity, while ensuring there are sufficient resources available to meet the costs of public services and supports in the medium to longer term. Its report was published on 14 September and I have thanked the …

We have to balance that against the reality that capital, in particular, is at the heart of how we can sustain economic growth and employment in our country. Capital, for many people, is the savings, assets and pensions they have worked so hard to build up and any changes in that regard must be weighed up against the role that kind of investment and those assets play in creating employment and jobs within our country but also against the reality that we are now in a time in which many are uncertain about the econom…

I am sure that is a matter the House can consider but I respectfully differ with the Deputy in terms of his acknowledging the commentary and analysis my Department and I have had on corporate tax revenue but then making a suggestion or inference that we have not done anything to manage that risk in recent years. The point I would make is that if we look at where we have been since 2019, even though corporate tax revenue has gone up significantly in that period, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy…

The Government recognised the great challenge of rising prices since last October in budget 2022, in which we brought in measures worth €1 billion to help anticipate a change in the cost of living. In February, the Government went further and agreed an additional package of €505 million, including the €200 energy credit and a lump sum payment of €125 for those in receipt of the fuel allowance. We also changed the rate of VAT on electricity and gas and cut excise, among other measures totalling approximately €2.4 bi…

I keep hearing talk of the Sinn Féin budget but it has not yet appeared. The budget it is trailing has had more instalments than "Star Wars" in the way it is being brought forward, and we are still waiting for it to come out. Before the summer, Sinn Féin demanded that the Government bring forward an emergency budget. The country awaits with interest - perhaps that is an overstatement but some of us await with interest - when Sinn Féin is going to bring forward its overall proposals, which it has not yet done. As De…

Deputy Doherty is so busy trying to devise a budget that brings together all the figures that cannot be added up and involves going against the advice and warnings many are giving regarding overheating our economy and not creating new risks tomorrow that he is busy over there imagining U-turns that have not happened. What I have done at all points is acknowledge that there is not an easy or simple solution to some of the challenges that households and businesses are facing. The Deputy pointed to my record as the Mi…

Of course, I am also the Minister for Finance who had the privilege of being in office during Covid to put in place the supports that played such a role in our country getting to where we are today, working with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Fleming, on this and many other matters. While this challenge is fundamentally different from Covid, I will be guided by what the Government believes is right for the people of Ireland as opposed t…

The programme for Government provides a commitment to develop processes that will study and advance social solidarity and equality of opportunity and look at how we can bring forward measures that are better for the ecology and environment of our country. In accordance with this commitment, my Department undertakes an analysis of the distributional impact of the main tax and welfare measures in the budget. The analysis assesses the impact of these measures on weekly equivalised household disposable income, by level…

I welcome the necessary clarity given by the CRU around disconnections during what will be a challenging and difficult winter for many people. The Government will play its part in trying to help them. Deputy Barry asked me a very detailed question, which he knows sits with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. If the Deputy had wanted an answer to the question, he could have let me know he intended raising the matter and I would have been equipped to answer him now. I am n…

I absolutely appreciate how important this issue is to many households. I also have many constituents who are in the circumstances the Deputy described. I welcome the indication given by the CRU yesterday regarding the support that will be available to households that struggle during a winter in which they are worried about bills increasing. I am sure the CRU or the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications will want to bring clarity to the matter Deputy Barry is raising. I am not sure it is up to m…

I gave a commitment to the House that a comprehensive review of the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme to include a broader review of mobility supports for persons with disabilities would be undertaken. I am working with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman on this. Both of us agree that this work should take place under the auspices of the national disability inclusion strategy to examine transport supports encompassing all Government-funded transport and mobility schemes for people with disabilities. This i…

I accept the point Deputy Canney is making. I am committed to trying to resolve and conclude an issue that has been running for some time. Two things are under way now. First, we are trying to come up with a better overall policy compared to where we are at the moment. I understand the issues of equity that the Deputy raises. As always, we must look at the cost and impact of any new scheme that is put in place. I have a duty to consider that too. Second, and this relates to what the Deputy said about the lack of a …

I am very much aware of the views of the Ombudsman. Deputy Canney has reminded me of those views again. I fully accept that where we are is not acceptable to many people who rely on a scheme like this while dealing with great difficulty in their own lives due to their health. That said, it is a complex and sensitive matter. I will pursue two things. First, I will support the work that is under way to put a new board in place. Second, I will support my officials to conclude the work to identify how the scheme can be…

There has not yet been any further change in the budgetary framework that is available to countries. The general escape clause that keeps the EU fiscal rules in place but gives countries more flexibility in their levels of borrowing was activated again for this year and next year. That gives countries the flexibility they need to be able to borrow in response to the very pressing and serious global issues that the Deputy referred to and continue to come to light. The country-specific recommendation to Ireland under…

I take the Deputy's point that we need to look at how we can provide guidance - probably stronger than nudging - to help to deepen the resilience he is referring to. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is looking at different ways in which this could be done. I know that the challenges we are facing at the moment with the price and availability of energy are very serious. As the Deputy knows, really important changes happened in the years after the last great energy shock of the 1970s which opened up new sources of en…

Deputy Bruton is a veteran of these kinds of policy debates and is well versed in the Dáil. He will know as well as I do that it is difficult to bring in tax reliefs and concessions that are short term in nature which can be quickly modified. That said, I know the House will be aware of two other ways in which we are trying to do this. I concur entirely with the Deputy that making use of existing buildings that are in place is not only necessary for responding to our housing needs but is also the most energy-effici…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter so regularly with me. I also thank him for his participation and attendance at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on this and other matters which I greatly value. The Deputy will be aware of the first part of what I am about to say, which is that this is a commercial matter for individual lenders. I cannot determine the interest rates they charge nor indeed is the Deputy asking me to do that. I wish to bring to the atten…

I thank the Deputy for his steadfast approach to these matters in recent years. I know he is strongly supportive of the European Union. He equally appreciates that some decisions need to be taken at a national level and we need to protect our right to do so. The Deputy is, of course, correct about the operation of the Single Market. However, national regulators still determine how much capital individual national banks hold, which in turn plays a role in the setting of interest rates in the different jurisdictions.…