Of the money we spent on Covid and supporting our society through a time of such challenge, I am unclear what element of that spending the Deputy was against. Was he against the introduction of the pandemic unemployment payment? Was he against the introduction of the employment wage subsidy scheme? Was he against putting more money into our hospitals as our citizens needed support and healthcare at a time of such crisis? Perhaps the Deputy, in outlining his concern regarding why the debt has increased by so much, o…

Instinct is appropriate here and it was an appropriate word for the Deputy to conclude his question on. What instinct of his is motivating him? During the many lockdowns we had to go through when our country was going through waves of Covid, at what point would he have lightened the public health measures? At what point would he have made the decision, when there were hundreds of people in our hospitals and we had community transmission rates in the thousands on some days, to reverse the public health measures that…

I do not hear much stony silence in regard to the costs. A growing theme of the public debate that is under way is an appreciation of the increase in our national debt and what that could mean for generations to come. Unlike the banking guarantee, the debt incurred in dealing with the Covid crisis played a direct role in saving jobs in our domestic economy at a time they were needed. It played a role in directly supporting income at a time it was needed. The Deputy made the case that our public health measures were…

The Deputy will come into the House and say the public health measures are too demanding but when the Government brings forward a plan to lighten and moderate those public health measures and allow restaurants to successfully reopen in the way they did this summer, Deputy Tóibín is against it. He talked earlier about his instincts. He says he is in favour of changing public health measures to allow restaurants and cafés to open, but when we introduced a measure to enable our hospitality sector to successfully open …

Of course the Deputy does not want it acknowledged that the measure succeeded. He is against stony silence except when a charge is being made about him.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 14, 16, 25, 37, 41, 50, 54 and 62 together. The business resumption support scheme is a new support for businesses impacted by Covid-19. It is administered by Revenue. To qualify for the scheme, a business must carry on a trade or trading activities the profits from which are chargeable to tax under case I of Schedule D. The business must possess a valid tax clearance and continue to maintain tax clearance for the duration of the application period. Under the scheme, businesses w…

I thank the Deputies for the points they made, some of which I will try to address. First, in terms of the number of covered companies and employers that have registered for the support scheme, this reminds me of where we were with the CRSS, in that registration at the start of the scheme tended to be lower than I expected. When we launched the scheme, I was asked in the early phase of that why more employers did not register. What happened is that towards the latter end of the registration, the number of companies…

Of course the Government will consider if we can do anything on the issues the Deputies raised. The EWSS is in place and we have to make a decision as part of the budgetary process regarding the future of the scheme, how long it will be in place and what subsidies will be available for its future duration. A scheme such as that will contribute to the ability of employers to recover from the harm of Covid and deal with the costs they have to confront as they look to reopen. When the Tánaiste is working on the propos…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 209, 211 and 227 together. The 140 members of the OECD's inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, continue to work on a two-pillar proposal towards finding a consensus solution to address the tax challenges of digitalisation and globalisation of the economy. Many of the key policy decisions of the two-pillar proposal, including the rate of the proposed minimum effective tax rate, remain undecided. I have been very clear on my position. I am broadly supportiv…

I thank Deputy Nash for his point and I, of course, respect also the judgment he is bringing to bear on this and the view of the Labour Party on it. The key point I would make to the Dáil this evening, however, is the current text in relation to this agreement contains far too many uncertainties for me to be able to recommend to the Government and then to the Dáil that we should sign this agreement. The Deputy in good faith made the point about a marginally higher tax rate. The phrase at the moment is "at least 15%…

At the conclusion of this process, it will be appropriate for me to give a broader perspective on the work that has happened in the OECD, in the European Union and elsewhere in pursuit of our objectives regarding corporate tax policy and the stability of the rate. This is a project that has been going on for a number of years. It is one in which I have been totally involved. We will get to a point in the coming weeks or months, or maybe beyond that, in which we as a Dáil and as a Government will need to make a very…

I would say briefly to Deputy Nash, if I may, that if I had entered the agreement earlier in the process a question that Irish industry and the Dáil would be putting to me is, what I believe the rate will be in the future. As long as it is described as at least 15%, that certainty is not there.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 13 together. This is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive gives a refund of income tax and deposit interest retention tax, DIRT, paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to certain limits. The scheme was enhanced in 2020 as part of the July stimulus and, in the Finance Act 2020, the enhanced arrangements were extended until the end of this year. Following a commitment in the H…

If I may begin with Deputy Connolly, the value of the tax strategy group paper is it lays out different options that the Government can consider in the run-up to the budget. At this point, I cannot indicate the future of the scheme because the Government has not made a decision on it. It will be made on budget day. I note what the tax strategy group papers stated about the need for a more fundamental review of the scheme because it has been enhanced. It is now costing more than it has been in recent years. That is …

The reason fewer purchases happened is because of how long the economy was locked down in 2020. There were fewer opportunities for homes to be bought than there would have been in the previous year.

The reason the cost went up is because in the middle of the year we enhanced the scheme. That is the reason. As to the point Deputy Smyth made, as I stated a moment ago, I am well aware of the importance of the scheme. If Deputy Connolly is concerned about the answer I gave, she would even be more concerned if I indicated a budget day decision three weeks before the budget. All of these matters will be dealt with on that day.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 35, 38 and 56 together. I thank the Deputies for their questions. I am advised by Revenue that, while working remotely does not entitle PAYE workers to a specific tax credit, a combination of legislative provisions and administrative practices provide relief for remote workers who incur certain expenditure in the performance of the duties of their employment from home. It is acknowledged that remote workers may incur expenditure in the performance of their duties from home, such…

Always, a Cheann Comhairle. However, we have to ensure that the ambition of today is also affordable tomorrow. This is a matter that the Government Deputies at least are aware of. I am aware of the importance of how we support the move to working away from the office. Deputy Moynihan made an important point that I will consider, and I thank him for raising it. Regarding the contributions made by my party colleagues, I will make two points. As they will agree, it needs the agreement of a protocol between employers a…

To go back to the issue the Deputies' touched on a moment ago, Deputy Carroll MacNeill made the point about the financial services sector. It is the case that many companies in the services sector have become more profitable and more successful during this period. In the context then of working from home and the additional costs of that, this is an issue employers and employees need to work together on. It is not always the Government which can step in and provide additional money because the additional money we ar…

In making the case for confidence in this Government and in the Minister, I acknowledge the recovery that has yet to be led and the healing that this Government must and will help with. In making the case for confidence in the efforts of Simon Coveney and the Government, I acknowledge the work that lies ahead, work this Government is committed to undertaking. Let me deal with the charges that have been made against this Government and the Minister, Deputy Coveney, this evening. Let us look at the track record of th…