The Minister of State is being grossly unfair. Senator Higgins is asking for a report on what the impact of these proposals would be. It is very different. Again, I have to point out that so far today, the Minister of State has rejected every constructive proposal for a report. We should expect better than this type of engagement. Senator Higgins is asking for a report that could well elicit very important information on what we could do in this area and he is flatly rejecting a report. Again, I ask what he is afra…

Sinn Féin is opposed to sections 27 to 30, inclusive, of this Bill. This is an area that really concerns me because the carbon tax is fundamentally regressive. When I raised the issue with the Minister of State earlier in the week, he came back with an answer that stated that "on carbon tax on low income households, the budget provides three measures". He mentioned the €3.50 increase in the fuel allowance, the qualifying child dependant allowance and the living alone allowance. The problem is that we know from OECD…

I highlight the contrast. The Bill seeks to lock in year-on-year increases in the carbon tax until 2030, increases the Minister of State has admitted are regressive. Where are the corresponding increases in social welfare? At the very least, the Government should have ensured that was matched to make it fair. The Government should also have addressed the weekly income limit that applies to access the fuel allowance of just €513.70 for a couple. As I have pointed out, that shows that most people will not be able to …

We are making political points here. It is never personal. The Senator asked for constructive solutions so I will give her some. The Government could have and should have upped the level of accessibility for the fuel allowance. As I have pointed out for the third time now, a minimum wage couple do not qualify for that allowance. The lowest paid workers in the State do not qualify for it. The Government could have tackled that. Fundamentally, what it could have done and absolutely should have done was insist on matc…

I want to home in on one particular piece of language the Minister of State has used in response to the measures that have been taken to help people. The Minister of State refers to the fuel allowance increase of €3.50, which will go to a broad range of lower-income households. I will keep this very simple. Is the Minister of State disputing that a couple on the minimum wage will not qualify for that fuel allowance?

I take the Minister of State’s point and there has been a good engagement on this issue. My point is that while most of us are going to have to pay more, it should not fall disproportionately on lower-income workers. As the OECD has evidenced, one in four workers in the State are lower-income workers. Unfortunately, given the way the Government has constituted this measure in this budget, that is exactly what it is doing. Another point, which has been made by many environmentalists, is that if carbon tax is introdu…

I move recommendation No. 11: In page 69, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “Report on distributional impact of increases in the carbon tax from 2021 to 2030 37. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the distributional impact of changes made to the carbon tax from 2021 to 2030 through sections 26 , 27 and 28 of the Finance Act 2020 .”. This really flows on quite nicely because concerns have been expressed ac…

The difficulty is this: Members across the Chamber and the Minister of State's Department have acknowledged that this is a regressive tax. What we are asking for is a report to exactly show how regressive it is and who it is failing most in terms of unfairness. If the Minister of State is serious about ring-fencing funds and making sure they go to the people who most need them, that can only be done if we find out who has been the hardest hit. By calling for this report, we are asking him to do that. I cannot see w…

Yes.

The Minister of State might shine a light on this section. Am I misreading it, as it looks like we are subsidising NATO now? Is that correct?

This is quite extraordinary. This seems to have escaped the notice of most people. It is bad enough that US troops are using our civilian airport at Shannon on their way to wreak havoc across the world. We need only look at the war in Yemen, supported by the US and the horrendous death and destruction there, but now it turns out we are going to subsidise the US troops as they go through Shannon. Were we not supposed to be a neutral country? Was that not what we used to claim at one point? This is purely embarrassin…

It is still wrong. It is morally wrong but we never hear anything of that from the Minister of State's colleagues in the House.

I move recommendation No. 12: In page 76, after line 32, to insert the following: “Report on the operation of the Retail Export Scheme 47. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the operation of the Retail Export Scheme.”. At last this is something we can all agree on. I know from all sides of the House there was genuine concern, and rightly so, regarding the retail export scheme and the changes in that respect. Notwithstand…

I move recommendation No. 20: In page 80, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: "Report on the taxation of pandemic unemployment payments made under section 202 of Social Welfare Consolidation Act of 2005 57. The Minister shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the taxation of payments commonly known as the pandemic unemployment payments made under section 202 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.". This makes common…

I move recommendation No. 21: In page 80, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: "Report on the cost of expenditures to companies in receipt of section 110 tax relief 57. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the annual cost of tax expenditures provided to companies in receipt of section 110 tax relief (as provided for under section 110 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) and the numbers of companies availing of…

I take the Minister of State's point. We will certainly take it up in other areas. However, the Minister of State highlighted a fundamental issue in terms of Revenue and when it comes to wealth, namely, there is not enough information when there needs to be. It is striking to Sinn Féin that, every year, when we propose a wealth tax, the Department of Finance comes back and states it cannot possibly estimate what that might bring in. That in itself admits we do not know enough. An important point about a wealth tax …

It is good to see the Minister. I wish her well. I wish to speak on the Bill because I feel quite passionately about it. It is a terrific initiative on behalf of the Civil Engagement Group and it deserves our support. It shows the flexibility and agility that we need to employ in these very precarious times. The intent of the Bill is to bring some compassion into how we treat migrants while the globe is in the middle of a once in 1,000 years pandemic. The Bill is compassionate, it respects health protection measure…

I want to return to retail workers again this morning. Clearly, with all of the worries of Brexit and what we may be facing in the new year it becomes even more concerning. One particular issue has raised its head, and I hope the Leader might be able to help. I have written to the Minister but I understand that she is very busy right now. As the House will be aware, our retail workers returned to work in large numbers this day last week. A number of workers volunteered to get the stores ready from the previous Frid…

It is nice to see the Minister of State who is welcome to the House. The budget came at a time of great challenge for our country, economy and people. Budget 2021 was primarily a response to that challenge. Since this pandemic began Sinn Féin has committed to constructively engage with the previous and current Governments in the best interests of our people while holding the Government to account, as is the job of any Opposition. Sinn Féin argued for greater levels of wage subsidy for low income workers in order to…

I thank the Senator.