Last week I received an email from Ruby Lily Doyle, aged ten, from Avoca. Like many of us, Ruby Lily and her family have taken to walking the beautiful village of Avoca in Wicklow, which is known to people as "Ballykissangel" from the television series. In her email she states that what has horrified her has been the level of dog fouling that has taken place on the walks. In fairness to her, she has now started her own local campaign in Avoca called Clean It Up and she has a lovely little poster that she goes aroun…

I will start with the Christmas message. It might calm me down a bit before I get into the substance of what I want to say today. It has been a difficult year for everybody. With regard to the House, I take this opportunity to wish a happy Christmas to the cleaning staff who knock quietly on our doors and clean the handles and all the surfaces we use, the catering staff, the ushers, the administration and, indeed, the Cathaoirleach. This is not a happy Christmas for the hospitality sector. The news emanating since …

I welcome this Bill. I do not think anyone has a problem with it. It has been an exceptional year with levels of expenditure that we have probably never seen before, and which we will hopefully never need to see again, around Covid-19. Following the news last night about hospitality, I take this opportunity to ask for certainty about what is happening in the coming week or ten days. We just need that. I spoke earlier on the Order of Business about the effect it is having on the families who are engaged in the secto…

I also wish to speak about councillors' pay, which has already been mentioned by three Senators. I agree that the time for talking is over. A decision must be made and it should be made sooner rather than later. This has been a protracted process. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has been mentioned twice during this debate but he has only held that brief for the last six months. Previous speakers should remember that their party held that brief for a considerable number of years previously and no deci…

When is it proposed to take the next Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to take the next Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Minister of State for her commitment to this House. She has always made herself available. I congratulate her on her success in bringing her first Bill through the House. The sitting is now suspended for 15 minutes, in accordance with the order of the House of 9 December.

I speak on a point of clarification which the Minister of State may be able to confirm. Everybody wants taxation applied fairly across the board and everybody should be treated equally. My understanding is we all receive tax credits and how we use them is up to ourselves. If I was on the PUP from March until August which I was not able to use the tax credits for, they are accumulated into the period after that. Is the Minister of State saying I can use them retrospectively in relation to the income I earned in that…

I do not intend to say too much, though I probably will end up doing so. Having been on the housing committee during the previous Dáil, I have a fair and deep understanding of this issue. The same cases were made when the initial scheme was brought in and they were proved incorrect. In the absence of affordability, the State needs to intervene to give young couples who aspire to own their own homes that opportunity. It might not be the ideal solution but it is a solution that gives families hope of owning their own…

Without the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, many businesses would have gone to the wall. We have engaged on this matter previously. I welcome the CRSS, but I have an ongoing concern. Businesses are relying on the CRSS, tax warehousing and many other measures that will collectively add to their problems down the road. The CRSS is allowing us to stay viable and keep our doors open while we park the losses we are making to be dealt with later. It is welcome from that point of view but, as I told the Minister …

When I asked the Minister of State a question earlier in the week or last week, I was not expecting that figure to come back. It is quite staggering and goes back to my fundamental concern about what businesses will do in September when they are faced with this bill. It is all tied in together because what is happening in businesses such as my own is that we are using the CRSS to pay suppliers and for energy and everything else. The only thing we can park into the future is State debt - our taxes such as VAT and PA…

Would it be possible to extend it until 2023?

I agree with many of the sentiments expressed by Senator Higgins regarding the operation of REITs. The problem with the Finance Bill is that it leads one on to other issues of principle. At one time, REITs played a role in the market and were considered to be part of the housing solution but it has evolved into something bigger and is actually causing more problems than it is providing solutions. It is disappointing that we need REITs to come in to build apartments. We should be able to find ways in the economy of …

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House, and I promise I will not mention the VAT refund scheme today. I will leave him alone on that issue. The economy is going through a turbulent time, with the two most dramatic impacts which none of us probably ever believed we would be dealing with, namely, Brexit and Covid-19. These impacts have disproportionate effects on different elements of the economy. Equally, some sectors of the economy are doing exceptionally well during this time, and that must be acknowled…

I wish to raise the issue of the hospitality and tourism sector. I am disappointed to have to do so. The whole sector has been treated very badly this week. I have always called for any decisions made by governments to be based on the evidence. No evidence has been presented to our sector for the strategy the Government has taken. While I accept that public health has to be front and centre and the priority issue, there is now frustration about the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. I was fully supportive of …

Do I move amendment No. 7 now? It is grouped with this amendment.

The amendments all relate to the same issue. The VAT refund scheme was introduced in 1985 and was one of the most incisive decisions ever for the promotion of tourism in Ireland. I am concerned that the Department does not fully understand the impact this scheme continues to have on the economy. I am very concerned about the €75 threshold. Senator Buttimer mentioned Blarney Woollen Mills, whose success was based on the VAT refund scheme. We all know of the coachloads of Americans coming through the shop who got the…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. This is about the principle of the VAT refund scheme, not whether the threshold is set at €175, €75 or €50. It is about a scheme that has operated successfully for 35 years, including last year. It engages with over 3.2 million visitors. What have they done wrong to be so disenfranchised? Visitors have availed of this scheme for 30 years and now it is being pulled away from them. Why? We are being told it is because of Brexit. I did not fully understand this and I was in…