Let me make the point; I have just one more sentence to say. Nothing is preventing them from being reappointed for further terms, but we need to have a break. We need to replenish the board members to retain freshness. It is a crucial body. This amendment is wrong.

The Government should be able to appoint suitable people-----

-----without the need for somebody being appointed three times in a row.

I beg the indulgence of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I know leeway has been given. This debate has gone very quickly. Perhaps we could allow a few minutes to hear a response on this issue and then we will be finished.

I do not think anybody will object if the Minister of State goes over time for a couple of-----

Táim ag cur ceiste inniu ar an Tánaiste i dtaobh an phá d'altraí atá ag traenáil agus iad ag obair ar an líne thosaigh sna hotharlanna ar fud an Stáit seo. Is iad seo altraí atá ag cur a saol i mbaol ar ár son - fuair cuid mhór acu an víreas Covid-19 agus d'fhulaing siad agus rinne siad íobairtí móra ar ár son. Is iad seo altraí freisin nach gcreideann an Rialtas gur fiú pá a thabhairt dóibh. Nuair a amharcaimid ar an dóigh a dhéileálann an Rialtas seo le pá d'altraí atá ag traenáil, cífimid nach bhfuil dílseacht a…

The Tánaiste has again spoken about the extraordinary work being done by our student nurses and indeed by our public health workers across the board and I agree with him. He talks about pay rises but the core of this issue is that student nurses do not get paid for their work. The Tánaiste talks about supervised work as if this is all normal times. This is not normal times. Doctors, consultants and care assistants can see what student nurses are doing. They have stepped up and into the breach and have put themselve…

-----on the front line in Covid-19 wards should not be paid? Will he revisit the issue and do what the Irish people want which is to reward our front-line workers with more than platitudes or rounds of applause?

I raise again the issue of the review of gynaecology services at Letterkenny University Hospital, LUH. I raised this with the Tánaiste a fortnight ago here in the Dáil. It entails shocking cases of delays and misdiagnoses. I have also written to the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, twice in the space of those two weeks asking that action be taken in relation to this report. I still await a reply. The women and their families are waiting on answers and on progress. The Tánaiste said a f…

I am concerned about the amendment because, as we know, the section was to come into effect on 1 January 2021. Section 15 amends Ireland's legislation on transfer pricing, Part 35A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, which was updated in the Finance Act 2019. The amendment was brought forward as it became apparent that the exclusion provided in section 835E may have been interpreted more broadly than was intended. I understand it was to ensure the exclusion operates as intended. The Minister said there may be issues wi…

No. I would welcome the opportunity to have that information shared with us. We understand there is a need to bring in an amendment of the law with regard to this section, and it has been brought in. It now emerges there may be what I think I am right to classify as unintended consequences, and the Minister needs to clarify what those unintended consequences are. However, there is still a belief that the section needs to be brought in to deal with other matters. The problem in front of us is that we will only have …

I move amendment No. 67: In page 45, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "Report on restoring cap on intangible assets 22. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on restoring the 80 per cent cap on intangible assets onshored between 2015 and 2017 that can be written off against profits at the rate of 100 per cent.". I have raised this matter time and time again with the Minister. I am looking for a report, which is a mechanism the…

We have had this debate for a number of years now. Others, including professors of economics and the former chairman of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, have added their weight to the debate. The Minister blatantly refuses to do as proposed. One could refer to the existing arrangement as a loophole, but loopholes are not supposed to be designed. The arrangement is deliberately designed. We are aware it exists in our tax law. It benefits one company, in particular. It allows it to reduce its tax liability by milli…

I want to speak to amendment No. 72 and also to support amendments Nos. 76 and 77. There has been a lot of talk about just transition and some people will ask if it is just a fancy slogan or a buzzword, or if it has any meaning at all. I represent the county of Donegal and what the people of Donegal see in this section is simply more taxes - more taxes to get from A to B and to drive their car, more cost being placed on their families to heat their homes and more cost to cook their food. The date of 15 February 196…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 10, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “Report on economic and distributional impact of the Help to Buy Scheme 8. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the economic and distributional impact of the Help to Buy Scheme.”. As we begin Report Stage of the Finance Bill 2020, I acknowledge we had a lengthy debate on many of the sections and, indeed, on the subject matter of many of the amendments tha…

I thank the Minister for putting the correct information on the record of the House regarding the power to vary rates, which is the appropriate position in order that we do not have to revisit primary legislation. It is welcome that that is the case and that the position has been clarified. The help-to-buy scheme is a part of it, but this goes to the core of Government housing policy. The Minister has told us about all the various supports and the funding that is available but the reality is that unlike Deputy Mair…

It is. The amendment seeks a report but we are really attempting to get the Government to stop going in this direction of fuelling property prices, which really only benefits developers. This is a transfer of taxpayers' money that ultimately ends up in developers' pockets as house prices are pushed beyond the reach of many. It is symptomatic of a failed Government policy on housing. The Ceann Comhairle may have seen today 56 black balloons outside the gates of our Parliament. Those 56 balloons represent 56 people w…

I welcome the amendment by Deputy Naughten. He acknowledged that it derived partly from a contribution I made on Committee Stage on the need to explore accelerated capital allowances and associated caveats since not all companies are the same. Capital allowances are relevant for any company that is facilitating remote working. Companies can claim capital allowances on expenditure anyway. They can claim at a rate of 12.5% over a period of eight years. This could offset the full amount of the investment over an eight…

I want to expand on this point. I ask the Minister to think of a company. It will be possible for that company to buy a treadmill, a set of dumbbells, a rowing machine or a bench press and offset all those costs against its profits in one year. If that company, however, wants to buy a proper chair for a remote worker, so that he or she will not have spinal or back problems, the company will have to offset those costs over eight years. That is where this does not make sense, and that is why this amendment should be …

I move amendment No. 6: In page 11, after line 34, to insert the following: “Report on operation of income tax relief for cross-border workers 11. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the operation of income tax relief for cross-border workers under section 825A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, including the consideration of options to regularise the temporary relief granted by Revenue under section 825A in response to Covid-19 and fur…