The Deputy's point about the need to tell people what we are doing is relevant to this debate. Much of what he is calling on me and the European Union to do is happening. I have just mentioned what ISIF has done. Only a few weeks ago, the Governor of the Central Bank wrote to all of the CEOs involved in the insurance sector about investment decisions they make, reminding them of the need to be aware of their commitments under Environmental, Social and Governance, ESG, under more sustainable investment decisions. It…

I know the Deputy's question relates to farmers or foresters who sell their trees for profit and whose trees have become damaged or diseased. As he said, there is a particular issue with ash dieback disease, sometimes referred to as chalara, which is of particular relevance to his question. Profits or gains from the occupation of woodland in the State, which is managed on a commercial basis and with a view to realising a profit, are exempt from income tax and corporation tax under section 232 of the Taxes Consolida…

However, we have acted. Ash dieback was not a regulated disease in the European Union when it was detected here and as I understand, it is still not a regulated disease in the EU. Ireland and the United Kingdom were the first countries to introduce emergency national legislation to restrict the impact and import of ash plants from other member states. The then Government acted to restrict the arrival of these trees into our country and prevent the kind of harm to which the Deputy is referring. A scheme is in place …

Everything from the Deputy is always about blame. It is always about blaming somebody.

It is always about blame. It is the same old song from the Deputy, regardless of the topic. What I am doing is pointing to the action that we have taken. I am pointing to the legislation that was brought in by the then Government. It was one of the first Governments to bring in legislation to restrict the import of these trees into Ireland.

I am pointing to the cost in relation to this. I am informing the Deputy for the third time of the scheme that is in place there to help those whose trees and forests have been afflicted by this disease. Of course, it is also the case, and he may or may not be aware of this, a planting grant is available, which can cover up to 60% of the afforestation grant to help foresters with the cost that is involved in reseeding and replanting-----

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, that is the proper record of what we have done. The then Government recognised this as an issue. As I have outlined, though the Deputy has little interest in hearing it, the supports and schemes that are available to help foresters deal with this issue.

Is this the question tabled by Deputy McGuinness?

I thank Deputy Smith. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, my officials and I have had regular contact with the Financial Services Union, FSU. Over the past year in particular, in light of the rate of change in the sector, this has included increased engagement in relation to the future of banking. The issues that the Deputy has referred to are serious. I am well aware of the different developments he has detailed and the concern they have caused in the community that he represents. I will finalise a memorandum t…

I thank the Deputy for that point. I anticipate that the review we will bring forward will have a provision within it for submissions to be made and for communities to make their views known about development or the absence of banking services in their local communities. In the interests of complete transparency, I envisage a review which will be conducted by the Department of Finance with Government approval. As part of that review, there will be ample opportunity for important stakeholders in the Irish banking se…

There has been a decline in the use of cash for transactions, but for many it is still the preferred method of making payments and performing transactions. I take the Deputy's point and the issue he raised about financial literacy is tied to the need for financial inclusion. To ensure that all citizens have the ability to participate in our financial system, there must be a place where they can make deposits and a way in which they can make payments in shops. This is the kind of issue that can be covered in the rev…

I thank the Deputy. The objective of the EWSS is to support employment and maintain the link between the employer and employee insofar as is possible. It has been an important part of our response to the Covid-19 crisis. While the criteria for eligibility for business in general is based on a reduction in turnover as a result of the pandemic and having regard to the importance of maintaining the provision of childcare facilities so as to enable parents to continue in or take up positions of employment, the legislat…

In recognition of the issues the Deputy referred to, we ensured that the childcare sector would be able to participate in the EWSS even if particular providers did not meet the revenue decline threshold. It is also the reason that it is the only sector referenced in the scheme. A provider who is in it now will continue to be in it until next April. The sector is undergoing huge change. We need a successful and viable sector to support families, particularly when parents decide to go back to work or to be in the off…

I accept many of the points the Deputy has made. I know how important the childcare sector is in supporting parents to go back to work and giving young children the support they need at the start of their life. I repeat what I said to Deputy Niamh Smyth. She made the case for a whole-of-government approach. I cannot give any better example of such an approach than saying that the childcare sector will continue to be in the EWSS, regardless of how an individual provider performs. Access to this scheme has been one o…

On 8 October, Ireland joined 135 other member jurisdictions of the OECD framework in reaching a two-pillar agreement to address the tax challenges that have arisen from digitalisation. Pillar 1 will see a reallocation of a portion of the income of very large companies from source jurisdictions to market jurisdictions. Pillar 2 will introduce a global minimum effective tax rate of 15% on businesses with a global turnover of greater than €750 million. It is important to note that 95% of the companies operating in Ire…

I have the figures here in front of me as well. I am sure I got them from the same place Deputy Boyd Barrett did. He is correct, in the sense that credits and deductions are used, but that is not the same as tax avoidance. That is where we differ. Credit, for example, with regard to recognised research and development is not tax avoidance, it is a legitimate way of the tax code recognising that something is happening inside a country that is valuable and that can create employment and investment. It is a common fea…

In his efforts to pre-empt what I was going to say, we had a bit of a hallelujah moment. Deputy Boyd Barrett just said he values the jobs that are here. It is the first time in our years of debating this that I have heard him say that. I think he and I have had a little bit of a breakthrough in this debate.

It is great that all this is being recorded. If he does value them, surely he can then understand why we want them in the country and that we need to have a tax code that is competitive, which is why we have had this debate regarding the low rate. While we now agree on something regarding these jobs being valued, where we continue to disagree is that Deputy Boyd Barrett sees, for example, the write-down of an expense as tax avoidance, whereas I see the write-down of an expense in the tax code as a tax policy recogn…

Let us recognise all we have agreed on this evening.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 132 together. The legislation governing entitlement to the incapacitated child tax credit is contained in section 465 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, as amended. The legislation provides that an individual is entitled to a tax credit of €3,300 per qualifying child for a year of assessment if he or she proves that at any time during the year of assessment, he or she has a child who is under 18 years of age and is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical i…