Deputy Doherty is well able to dole it out. He has to take the argument back. If he wants a debate, let us have a debate about this. When the next young boy or girl comes up to Sinn Féin in rural Ireland and asks what it is doing to respond to climate change, how will Sinn Féin answer with credibility? Given the increase in carbon emissions that are causing such harm to our environment, Sinn Féin is saying that it will not put in place the measure that scientists are looking for. What are we doing with the revenue …

I move: THAT Section 125A of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 (No. 31 of 1999) be amended to provide for the specified rate of stamp duty in respect of an insured person in respect of relevant contracts renewed or entered into on or after 1 April 2020 and on or before 31 March 2021 and on or after 1 April 2021 in the manner and to the extent specified in the Act giving effect to this Resolution.

I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."

I also acknowledge all the work done by the officials in facilitating the smooth running of Committee Stage of the Finance Bill. I want to use my seven minutes to clarify a matter that was raised on Committee Stage in an exchange on the employment wage subsidy scheme. A debate took place between Deputy Doherty and me on amendments Nos. 176 to 180 which related to section 61. The issue arose towards the end of the Committee Stage debate and it related to the nature of flexibility that I have, as Minister for Finance…

I will deal with the points made by Deputies Canney and Naughten. We must look at how we can ensure that properties which are either derelict or that have been vacant for a very long period can be renovated and returned to use. I am seeing that work taking place now in local authorities through money being made available to them by the Government and the use of grants. It is the appropriate way in which the challenge referred to by Deputies Naughten and Canney can and should be addressed. It should be done by local…

I wish to make two points before going into the detail of the issues that have been raised by the Deputies. In the debate that is to ensue regarding the right balance between working at home and working in an office that is generally located in a city, we should acknowledge that there is a value in having city centres that are vibrant and busy. There is a value in that and this is not just an argument about Dublin city centre. It is an argument that is important for many cities across our country. In making decisio…

As I said in my earlier contribution on the amendment, we need a balance. It is the case that we will have far more people working from home than we had before the pandemic. We can develop a balance that is good for them and that is, in turn, good for their employers and the Irish economy. I am in favour of finding that balance. I was in favour of finding the balance before Covid-19 arrived in our country. That is why is I supported the roll-out of the national broadband plan, which is the critical enabler in how w…

I am aware of the matters raised by the Deputy and I can advise that my officials have been in touch with their counterparts in Northern Ireland regarding this matter. In that regard, I also note that this relief applies not only to persons with UK-based employment but also in respect of employment in the EU and double taxation arrangement network regions in compliance with Ireland's treaty obligations. This relief has broader obligations beyond Northern Ireland therefore, and the suggestion regarding facilitating …

The flexibility Deputy Doherty refers to was shown by the Revenue Commissioners in dealing with this matter, in terms of how they have dealt with this issue when the pandemic has changed so much in our country. The research Deputy Doherty is looking for will be dealt with in the context of the tax strategy group papers, which will be done as they are normally done, by next summer. This is, as Deputy Doherty is aware, the way in which we examine matters relating to our tax code. If the answers I give the Deputy are …

I have listened to Deputy Doherty. Issues such as the role of income tax credits and the future of our income tax code can be, and I am sure will be, considered by the commission which the Government will put in place on taxation and welfare which will provide an input to the Government and the Oireachtas on decisions we may have to make in future to ensure we can pay for better public services that will be needed and changed public services that might be needed in the aftermath of Covid-19. However, I have no doub…

For my part I will call out the hypocrisy of Sinn Féin members, who say they want to tackle climate change but oppose carbon taxation. I will call out the hypocrisy of a party whose Deputies lambaste measures in our country while standing over weaker and less impactful measures in Northern Ireland. I will not accept claims by Sinn Féin, Deputy Doherty or any Opposition Deputy that I, my party or this Government are motivated by anything other than supporting ordinary workers and families, the ordinary taxpayers of …

I will not take lectures on any elites on our island from the richest party in our country.

Tax relief in respect of rent paid was abolished in budget 2011 and is no longer available to those who commenced renting for the first time from 8 December 2010. This followed a recommendation of the 2009 report by the Commission on Taxation that rent relief should be discontinued. The view of this independent commission was that, in the same manner in which mortgage interest relief increased the cost of housing, rent relief increased the cost of private rented accommodation. Accordingly, the result of reintroduci…

Of course I acknowledge there are significant challenges within the rental market. It could be the case that some things in the rental market will be changed by what is happening with Covid-19 or its aftermath, but that does not take away from the great challenges that are there at the moment. That is why, for example, rental pressure zones are in place, as the Deputy is aware, and it is why so much work is under way to try to deliver more homes and apartments. I believe that at the heart of how we will resolve the…

A total of 1% of taxpayers in Ireland pay 23% of the total income tax paid in the country. This reflects the reality that those who have the most are paying the most. The top 20% of earners in the country will pay 77% of the total income tax and USC that is collected in Ireland in 2020. When Deputy Boyd Barrett calls for those who have more to pay more, the reality is that we have a tax code that is already delivering that. The way in which USC is structured and how it interacts with income tax means that those who…

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, put in place the music stimulus fund to which the Deputy referred to support artists at this very difficult time. She has the ability to continue the fund into 2021 and I hope those artists who were unsuccessful in gaining access to it thus far may be able to do so later this year or next year. The other side of the coin the Deputy is referring to is the question of how we fund the kinds of initiatives he is calling for, s…

I move amendment No. 11: In page 12, line 12, to delete “2020” and substitute “2020)”. As indicated on Committee Stage, I propose a number of amendments relating to the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. This has been a very challenging period for businesses and it may take some time and additional cost to reopen once the restrictions are lifted. I therefore propose an extra restart week to be paid to businesses, the week after the restrictions are lifted, as an additional support to them in reopening. The ad…

Since this dreadful disease arrived in our country, the Government has: brought in the temporary wage subsidy scheme, which we then replaced with the employment wage subsidy scheme; reduced the standard rate of VAT to support retailers; reduced the VAT rate for the hospitality sector in order to support it; brought in a Covid restrictions support scheme to support businesses that are closed due to public health guidance; launched restart grants to support businesses that need help to reopen; warehoused tax liabilit…

I ask the Ceann Comhairle to bear with me. I have only been given two minutes in this round. My understanding is that I get seven minutes.

This is the first round on this group of amendments.