What does the Minister say about the promise he made to workers when he begged them for their vote? He promised he would cut their taxes. In his manifesto, he campaigned on that and he broke that promise over and over again. With this vote, he now has the opportunity to do something that is positive, that is progressive and that is about reducing the burden on people here and now. The Minister says he wants to do this, that, and the other. Fine Gael has been in government for 14 years. It is the party that has crea…

You do not have time.

You are here long enough, you should know.

I am not wrong.

You have no time.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 8, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “Report on supportive measures for rental property activation in areas impacted by defective concrete blocks 4. The Minister shall, within 3 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on supportive tax measures for rental property activation in areas impacted by defective concrete blocks.”. Amendment Nos. 4 and 11 are related. Amendment No. 4 is looking for the report, which is an additional way…

That is part of it.

I note the Minister said he would constructively engage, and I hear that. There is legislation coming up. He indicated he is going to oppose the amendments, which I am really disappointed with. I raised this with his predecessor and it is a sensible solution that does not cost the State any money because it is trying to release properties into the system that are not currently in it. As I said, I hope it would have a long-term impact in that, after the homes are rebuilt, it would encourage people to rent out these …

I will reiterate the point. This is the unfortunate reality. I understand that people want to make profits and all of the rest but, if you are a landlord in Donegal, you can rent to a Ukrainian family and are guaranteed the money because the State provides it. It is the equivalent of €1,200. It is different if you rent to a family whose home is affected by defective blocks. On the €15,000, that €15,000 comes off the money the family has to use to rebuild their home. If it takes 18 months to demolish and rebuild the…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 8, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “Report on rent tax credit 4 . The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the rent tax credit operating in the absence of a cap on rents, making a direct comparison between the amount of the credit and rent increases across the State for each year that the credit has been in operation.”. This is another area where the Minister broke a personal promise he made to …

Maybe I missed it, but did the Minister explain why he broke his promise to the electorate that he would increase the renter's tax credit by €100? He was going to extend it and increase it by €100. Did I miss that part or did he just avoid explaining why he broke another promise to the electorate? I will give him an opportunity to respond to that.

The Minister did not answer.

The Minister gave me a lesson on how governments are formed, which I well know.

He did not even state whether he actually asked for it. Was it the case that Fianna Fáil got its way on not increasing the renter's tax credit - the promise that the Minister broke? Did Fianna Fáil also get its way on the promise that the Government would bring a childcare plan within 100 days? Did Fianna Fáil also get its way on the promise the Minister broke - to reduce income tax for people every year? Did Fianna Fáil get its way on that one? Did it get its way on college fees as well? What about the promise tha…

I am.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 8, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “Report on rent tax credit 4. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the changing real value of the rent tax credit in relation to rent prices and the decision not to increase the rent tax credit.”.

I move amendment No. 10: In page 13, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Report on relief on medical expenses 5. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the inability of persons without the adequate tax liability to benefit from relief on medical expenses, making reference to the substantial burden facing individuals using home dialysis.”. I brought this amendment forward on Committee Stage of the Bill. It deals with the issue a…

I thank the Minister for his response. I brought this into the Finance Bill because this is where you prompt the debate and so on. As I mentioned to his predecessor, Paschal, the intention here is for Ministers to actually start this conversation. I am not on the health committee, and there is a wider issue in terms of public expenditure. This issue really makes sense. I do not have the data for the 344 individuals, and we only know about them in terms of home dialysis, but there are people with CAPD as well. They …

That is helpful. The beauty about flat rate expenses is that they are flat rate expenses. Revenue has determined the figure and you do not have to provide the receipts, although you can be called on by Revenue to provide receipts. Actually, a question I must put down is how many times Revenue has asked for the receipts from individuals. I have never been asked so far, although they are all there.

There you go. Róisín will kill me. Many people do not claim this. I would really encourage people, particularly in terms of the cost-of-living crisis, to claim for the flat rate expenses if they are on home dialysis, if they have a child with a disability or a life-limiting condition, if they are making those journeys, if they or a family member has CAPD, or if they have health expenses or other expenses that they have not claimed for. I will finish on the following. It is something I will revisit. I said this at t…