The Senator got his hair cut though.

There are two images that stick with me across a varied and interesting sharing of views in the Seanad this afternoon. The first was hearing Senator Burke talk about the changes in competition in Castlebar over many years, going from an environment in which there were many banks competing for the business of local residents to where it is now, where there are very few. The second image was hearing Senator Malcolm Byrne paint a picture of how, when he goes in to buy a shirt in his local shop at some point in the fut…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (Covid Restrictions Support Scheme) (Date Adjustment) Order 2021, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 8th April, 2021. I am pleased to move two resolutions today, seeking the approval of the House for the following draft orders which provide for the extensions up to the end of June of two support schemes, the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, and the Covid restrictions support Scheme, CR…

I thank Deputies for raising many issues with me relating to the WSS and the CRSS. I also want to acknowledge and thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for all of the work he is doing in the Department of Finance in dealing with many of the issues that have been raised by colleagues this afternoon. I want to begin by answering a number of questions that were put to me in the course of this very important debate. Deputy Devlin put a number of questions to me on the operation of a number of our schemes. In par…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (Covid-19: employment wage subsidy scheme) (Date Adjustment) (No. 2) Order 2021, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 8th April, 2021.

As the Deputy is very well aware, the Central Bank has recently reprimanded Ulster Bank and Davy for regulatory breaches that resulted in substantial fines being issued. I wish to recognise the extensive work undertaken by the Central Bank in achieving those results. The bank already has extensive regulatory powers to investigate and impose sanctions where there are breaches of financial services legislation. The introduction of a SEAR will complement those existing powers, ensuring that the Central Bank has the ad…

The party of which I am a member is the one which introduced, with its colleagues in government at the time, the Central Bank regulations of 2014 and there is sufficient legislation available to the Central Bank to allow it take action against individuals if it believes a case is merited. The inference of the Deputy is that legislation is not in place to allow action be taken against individuals but it is if the Central Bank decides such action is merited. Of course, it is the same Central Bank with the same powers…

We are giving it priority. Fines have been levied against companies for unacceptable behaviour. Action has been taken, for example, by the National Treasury Management Agency in dealing with the Davy matter and it demonstrates the seriousness with which the State has taken such matters, including the behaviour I condemned and which has been the subject of very heavy fines from the Central Bank with the legislation made available to it by the past three Governments. We have very strong and robust legislation in plac…

As the Deputy is aware, the Government has introduced a series of supports to help businesses deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. These measures are specifically targeted at supporting businesses negatively affected by the pandemic in retaining their employees on payroll and include the employment wage subsidy scheme and its predecessor, the temporary wage subsidy scheme. With regard to employees working from home, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is driving implementation of remote wor…

We are absolutely committed to the roll-out of the national broadband plan and I accept the Deputy's point that one of the very big questions undermining the ability of those who now must work from home in doing that work is the matter of broadband speed and connectivity. We are working hard to deliver that plan. Of course, the main issue we have is public health guidance that prevents some of the work being done. I hope as we move through the year we can commence the work again. The Deputy referred to cost concern…

In a lot of instances, I think the Deputy is right that these matters are better dealt with through the use of grants or payments rather than through our tax code. The difficulty of doing it through our tax code is if somebody has a low level of income and, therefore, pays a low level of tax, the ability of the State to help with expense can be weakened because they are not paying a lot of tax in the first place. That is why grants can, in general, be more effective in dealing with some of these matters. This will …

The Government is committed to bringing about meaningful insurance reform, as is reflected in the programme for Government. The action plan for insurance reform contains 66 actions across several departmental policy areas. Its implementation is overseen by a Cabinet subgroup on insurance reform, which met last week. Achievements to date include the adoption of personal injury guidelines by the Judicial Council, which has significantly reduced many common injury award levels, and the creation within my Department of…

The Government put such effort into the passage of the guidelines and gaining agreement to their implementation because of the commitment the Government has to reducing the award levels. We expect this, in turn, to have a significant effect on premiums and costs, which we accept are critical and difficult issues for many holders of private insurance policies and, in particular, employers at the moment. We will track this through the work the Central Bank will do. It published the very important data set that allowe…

The Deputy is standing up here and one of the main things he is thinking about is how he can generate accusations about me and imply the Government is not taking this seriously. We brought in this legislation and made these changes. We welcome the fact that the Judicial Council has issued guidelines that are consistent with the Government's aim of reducing the level of awards made in our courts. I respect the role of the Central Bank and the work it does in gathering data on this. It is best placed to do this. We w…

It is the pandemic that is causing the harm the Deputy refers to, not the Government. We are acutely aware that the pandemic and the necessary public health measures introduced to control the spread of the virus have had a huge impact on our economy and society. Recognising this, the Government has acted decisively and on an unprecedented scale. Almost €38 billion in fiscal support has been provided to households, businesses and our health service. This represents approximately one fifth of national income. Those w…

What other countries have proved that the use of public health measures and the restrictions on mobility and businesses opening do not work? What countries have proved they have alternative ways of tackling this disease? Name them. I heard him say a moment ago that the WHO said lockdowns do not work. I would love to hear the Deputy's argument for that in a moment, given that the WHO has been advising about the need for social distancing and the really big and dangerous effects of this disease that we know so well. …

Other countries have exited lockdown after being in lockdown for periods as well. Those are the facts. I asked the Deputy if he could give me an example of a country that has not used lockdown measures to suppress the disease. I did not hear the answer in the statement he made back to me. I do not know what the Deputy is suggesting regarding what agenda he feels I may have. The only agenda I have is to play what part I can in reducing the loss of life in our country, saving jobs where we can and getting ready to cr…

I believe this is a positive outcome for the Irish economy. It is important to have a competitive and vibrant stockbroking sector in our country to help to ensure Irish companies and employers can access the funding they need to finance their future growth plans and employ more people in Ireland, particularly as we exit from Covid-19. It is also a particularly welcome use for Fexco, which as the Deputy knows is a really important employer in the south west of our country. The proceeds it receives from this transact…

This is about the future of three Irish companies, namely, AIB, Fexco and Goodbody. This is a transaction that is good for a large employer and financial service provider in our country. For Fexco, the original owners of Goodbody, this is a transaction that is important and beneficial for its future. The future of Irish companies matters to me. The Deputy referred to the fact that we still need to regain the money put into AIB at the time of the last crisis which our country had to endure. Parts of how that bank ha…

Bonuses paid to Goodbody were paid by a company that the State at that point did not own. What I am doing here is allowing remuneration in Goodbody to continue as it was in the past. I am allowing AIB to continue to be subject to the policy in place relating to bankers' pay. It is really clear what is happening. I do not have available to me now the information regarding the level of Goodbody bonuses for last year. I did not bring that into the Chamber. At that point the Government was not involved in, or AIB did n…