As the Deputy will be aware, decisions with regard to staff and the management of branch networks are the responsibility of the board and management of individual banks, which are run on an independent and commercial basis. As Minister for Finance, I do not have a role in these commercial decisions. The withdrawal of Ulster Bank from the market and the decision by Bank of Ireland to close 88 branches in the Republic of Ireland are a deep blow, particularly for their customers and staff, and they represent very unfa…

It is only very recently that I have ever heard Deputy Barry talk about the people who work in the banks. Any time he stood up all he had were words of harsh criticism for banks, which at times I understand, but I have never heard him make any reference to the people who work in the banks in any exchange with me until recent weeks. I welcome his new-found interest in the people who work for the banks. It has always been a priority of mine to see how we can put policies in place that allow our banks to grow in such …

I am well aware of the responsibilities I have. It is interesting to hear the Deputy refer to the interest he appears to have had for many decades in the people who work for those banks. I stand by the comment I made. The first time he ever raised this matter with me was in recent weeks. I am of course aware of the challenges many big employers face within our country, but many of them are employers in which this country and its taxpayers do not have a share. As regards the banking system to which we are referring,…

Ireland’s excise duty treatment of fuel used for motor and heating purposes is based on European Union law as set out in Directive 2003/96/EC on the taxation of energy products and electricity, commonly known as the energy tax directive. Mineral oil tax is an excise duty comprised of carbon and non-carbon components. The carbon component is often referred to as carbon tax, but it is only one part of the overall tax that applies to mineral oils and other fuels used for motor and heating purposes. Mineral oil tax as …

I am very much aware of the issues Deputy Doherty has referred to and the hardship many people in our agricultural community are facing due to the issues of the pandemic and the consequences of Brexit. However, this measure has been introduced on a phased basis over many years. The ongoing challenges that members of the agricultural community face regarding the costs and impact of carbon taxation on their living standards and the bills they need to pay are reflected in the taxation treatment provided for with respe…

I remain committed to the implementation of the carbon tax changes that were included in the Finance Bill. These include the increase in carbon pricing and a number of other fuels from 1 May. I am aware of the issue Deputy Doherty referred to regarding independent agricultural contractors. I remember with the Finance Bill before last referring to difficulties I faced regarding the definition of these contractors and the work they do. I will get an update for the Deputy on where work on this issue stands. With regar…

The Deputy will be aware that Government policy on banking remuneration has remained unchanged since the financial crisis. Extensive restrictions are in place and these are not simply confined to a small number of senior bankers whose pay is restricted by the €500,000 cap. These restrictions affect approximately 23,000 workers across the three banks in which the State has a shareholding. The policy dictates that variable pay, including bonuses and any other benefits such as health insurance and childcare, cannot be…

The Deputy is correct that I did not refer to that in the earlier exchange but I did refer to it, I believe, in the answer I gave to Deputy Doherty. I certainly referred to it on the night of the debate on the banking sector in the Dáil a number of weeks ago on this and other issues. The reason I support it is that if Goodbody is going to be integrated into AIB - and I believe that is the appropriate thing for AIB - it is part of what can offer a better future for the bank, the people who work for it, Fexco and Goo…

The reason I have agreed to this particular proposal is that I believe it is good for three Irish companies involved in it - for the company that was looking to sell Goodbody, for Goodbody itself and for AIB. These are all very big employers and are all companies that matter to the economy. Perhaps Deputy Barry is against that transaction happening at all. Although he is against the sale happening, we still have one Irish company looking to sell part of its company, that is, Goodbody. That sale was attempted on two…

I am assured by Revenue that combating the threat which fuel fraud and the illicit alcohol and tobacco trades pose to legitimate businesses, consumers and the Exchequer continues to be a priority. Steps taken by Revenue to combat the illegal mineral oils trade, including home heating oils, include the introduction of stringent supply chain controls and reporting requirements, a rigorous programme of risk-focused enforcement action and the application of robust legislation. In addition, Revenue and the UK Revenue an…

I assure the Deputy that all that can be done is being done by An Garda Síochána, their counterparts in Northern Ireland and Revenue on this matter. I accept that the changes to our carbon tax that come into force in May will have an impact on the differentials to which Deputy Smith refers. However, the differentials that can lie behind the smuggling to which the Deputy referred will be the subject of a minor change that can be attributed to the increase in carbon pricing in May. I know that there will be a change …

Resources are being made available, particularly to the Revenue Commissioners, to deal with the issues referred to by the Deputy. I mentioned earlier the work now being done by Revenue in terms of the joint operations being conducted in low smoke zones. Revenue is collaborating with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and local authority solid fuel inspection teams with a view to checking compliance with the important taxes in this area. If the Deputy is aware of any particular issues in t…

When a person applies for a mortgage loan to buy a home, he or she will generally be required to take out mortgage protection insurance. In most cases, a lender is legally required under section 126 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 to make sure that a mortgage applicant has mortgage protection insurance in place before granting a mortgage loan. This is an important statutory provision designed to protect the borrower's dependants and their home should the borrower die before the mortgage has been repaid. However, th…

The Deputy made an important point. There is a reason exemptions are provided for in section 126 of the relevant law. I appreciate that many families are in difficult circumstances because of the effects of this disease on them and many others and this issue is dealing them an even harsher blow. I must be precise here because I do not want to mislead the Dáil. I cannot instruct the banks on how to handle this particular matter. That said, I do appreciate the distress it is causing and I am planning to understand th…

I assure the Deputy that in the engagement that the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, is having with our leading insurance providers on the matters we covered earlier in the debate, he is planning to raise that particular issue.

I am sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming. I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on banking matters. This debate is both timely and needed because in the past fortnight, there have been three major announcements from our banks that have major consequences for our citizens and speak to the challenges that the banking industry, along with the country in general, is facing in the midst of battling this pandemic. I refer to NatWest’s announcement of the phased closure of Ulster Bank and the a…

I thank Deputy Doherty for raising an array of very important matters. In the time that is available to me I will make a point about each of them. First, he asked about the larger role PTSB may play within Irish banking in the aftermath of Ulster Bank leaving. My Department has engagement with PTSB and if it is commercially viable and makes sense for the shareholder, which is in this case the Irish taxpayer, we would be supportive of transactions taking place that would strengthen the role of AIB and, in particular…

The reason I gave my agreement for the Goodbody transaction to take place is that I believe the sale by Fexco of Goodbody is good for a really important company in our country, particularly a very large employer which is facing many challenges at the moment. I believe it can help AIB respond to the challenges I have referred to. I believe a stable owner for Goodbody will be important for the transactions and the work it can do within our economy. For me, it is about jobs in three Irish companies. It is about how we…

I thank Deputy Nash for the questions. I will deal with each of them in turn, starting with the substantive questions about the investigation the Central Bank has carried out. The Deputy asked me what evidence it has and if I am aware if it is carrying out investigations of other companies. He knows that I cannot comment on the nature of investigations carried out by an independent regulator. This is the very point of having a regulator to do this work. In his concluding remarks, the Deputy pointed out the danger o…

I thank the Deputy for the different questions she has put to me. I was struck by what Deputy Shortall said. She said that nothing has changed. What has changed is that we have an independent regulator with strong powers at its disposal and a significant resource. It views these issues seriously, as evidenced by the statement made yesterday. If we wanted to see a signal of a different approach to dealing with these matters, it was in the statement made by the Central Bank.