-----with no sense of their cost or how they would be paid for. I hope those they claim to represent are looking in and taking note of their behaviour and recognise the dishonesty involved in bringing forward these ideas and calling for a mini-budget, while at no point in the debate giving any recognition of the cost or of what is involved in that regard.

For all of those reasons, the Government has put forward an amendment. We reject the attempts by the Rural Independent Group-----

-----to pretend that they understand the difficulties that many are facing-----

-----and their efforts here to pretend that they have a solution to it.

As other speakers have said, when we debate carbon taxation and climate change, we are, in effect, debating the future of humanity on our planet, the future of communities and peoples all over our world and, in some parts of our world, the future of their civilisation. That is what is at stake when we debate climate change and the future of our environment and our biodiversity. When confronting a challenge of this scale, the best place to start is the science and the opinions of scientists on this topic. They have …

Therefore, the only university heralded by Sinn Féin this evening to advance its cause regarding carbon taxing, the party's view on which I am still not clear on, a point to which I will come to in a moment, did publish a paper by one of its members of staff on carbon taxation, but many other papers from the same university acknowledge the role of carbon taxation and carbon pricing and make that case. That is not to say for a moment that I or this Government does not fully appreciate or recognise the impact that ri…

It is important that we have this discussion in the context of overall Government housing policy, which is providing record levels of State investment for all forms of housing. However, Government expenditure alone cannot meet all the housing needs of our State. Modelling undertaken by my Department estimates that approximately €12 billion of development funding will be required annually to meet the targets set out in Housing for All, of which €10 billion will be required from private capital sources. That is what …

Let me be clear that where tax is paid, it is paid by those who invest in these regimes. Those in REITs are subject and liable to a 25% withholding tax, while those in, or investing in, an IREF, are subjected to a 20% dividend withholding tax. That is where the tax is paid. It is paid when the person or the company investing in one of these funds gets the money back. It is taxed in exactly the same way in which a pension fund is taxed. The tax is incurred, therefore, when the income is redistributed to the person o…

I reiterate this is a Government that is investing €4 billion annually in responding to the intense housing needs we know exist. In the aftermath of a pandemic, this is a Government that has seen its policies lead to more than 20,000 homes being built last year, more than 30,000 homes now being commenced and more than 35,000 homes having received planning permission. That is what the effect of our policies has delivered, in the aftermath of a pandemic during which the construction sector was closed. I accept that f…

-----and the price of homes change so they will be able to afford to buy their first home. I accept that, but that is why we have the help to buy scheme, which the Deputy is against-----

-----and why we also have the Land Development Agency in place, which the Deputy is against-----

-----and why we have the shared equity scheme. I am well used to this from the Deputy. I said earlier, and he knows this is the case, that where the tax is paid, that is when the income is distributed from the fund. That is where the tax is liable. It is liable at 20%. It is liable at 25%. That is where the tax is paid. This was the case with the debate we had earlier on climate. The Deputy is peddling a dangerous idea: the concept, with regard to climate, that there can be progress without difficult decisions.

Again, the Deputy will not acknowledge the reality that where the tax is paid is where the income is distributed.

I appreciate the challenges many people are facing and I know the issues the Deputy raises are ones that too many are confronting. As I said in the debate earlier on carbon taxation, to be emerging from the very dark and difficult pandemic, with all that it meant for employment and income, for many to have to confront rising prices on top of this is a bridge that is hard for many to cross. I accept that, but it is not about the measures I am considering; it is about the measures that have been put in place by the G…

I am increasingly being struck by the tone, particularly from some Members of the Rural Independent Group, and the venom with which the word "tax" is used. It is extraordinary for a Deputy of the far left, such as Deputy Boyd Barrett, who I would have thought understands the role taxes play in providing public services on which our country depends, to do so. These are taxes that I know are difficult for many people to pay, but they are also taxes that pay for our schools, hospitals, and the public services that are…

We are just bringing in measures that will increase the corporate tax rate for the largest companies - I am not sure of the turnover of these companies - by 15%. Corporate tax rates will go up. The Deputy will appreciate the challenge involved in doing this. I know he would want them to go up more. One of the reasons corporate tax rates are increasing is it is a challenge to look at how we can find ways in which very large, very complex and, at times, very profitable companies can be taxed more effectively and diff…

The disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme provides relief from VRT and VAT on the purchase and use of an adapted car, as well as an exemption from motor tax and an annual fuel grant. There has been ongoing engagement between officials in my Department and both the Ombudsman and the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal since 2017 and I met with members of the board in March of last year. The ongoing engagement has reflected past and current issues surrounding the administration and oversight of the sch…

As I said, my officials who have been in contact with the board regularly alerted me to the concerns the board had about the operation of the scheme. When I met members of the board last year, which I did via a video conference, they informed me that they had very significant concerns regarding the operation of the scheme. They emphasised what other bodies have already done, the need for action to be taken to deal with issues regarding the eligibility criteria of the scheme and the administration involved in the sc…

I am very much aware that there are adults and children, citizens of our State, who are already grappling with such need in their lives and are expecting there to be a speedy appeal process in place. Of course I am aware of the assessments that have been offered about this scheme for so long. As I said to the House a few moments ago, I very much regret that the board members who were operating the scheme that I was responsible for felt they had no option but to resign in the way they did. Through the Public Appoint…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Many of these businesses still have a number of months of Covid support available to them in the form of the employment wage subsidy scheme. I acknowledge that the Deputy has made a number of constructive suggestions over the last two years to change the operation of the employment wage subsidy scheme and the Covid restrictions support scheme, which I have taken on board. Those schemes are still in place for many businesses affected by the pressures to which the Deputy ref…