I thank the Acting Chair. Certainly, us politicians can quite often be accused of "tokenism" but I am very conscious we are not talking about that today. We are talking about "tokenisation". I thank the Senator for raising this important and topical issue. Given that Ireland is both a large funds domicile and home to significant financial services and technology sectors, there would appear to be obvious synergies that should allow us to keep pace with these technological advances. We are closely monitoring developm…

I thank the Senator for raising this very important and topical issue. I will not give a commitment to amendments in the forthcoming finance Bill but I think I have been very fair in what I have outlined regarding the work officials in my Department and the Central Bank have done to date in engaging with industry. We acknowledge the huge opportunities this presents. We want to capitalise on them. That is why I have confirmed publicly here today that there will be a section within the Ireland for Finance strategy. T…

I thank the Senator for raising this extremely matter in the House today. I acknowledge his passion and advocacy on this issue over many months and years. I know that when I am going through a bout of health consciousness and running 5 km at a time, I feel far better than when I am not. We can all agree on the importance of participating, encouraging greater participation in sport and fitness activities and continuing to support those already participating in sports. It is acutely important. As the Senator said, pr…

All I would say is I do not know how but, after being beaten twice, you are still in the championship. The championship was never designed to give teams such as Dublin three cracks at the whip but there you have it. I have listened carefully to Senator Gallagher's contribution and I want to reiterate the point that it is a programme for Government commitment that we want to look at a variety of means of increasing participation in sport. This, quite clearly, is one opportunity. The Senator will acknowledge that the…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, which is relatively short and covers the tax aspects of the energy support measures announced by the Government in March and April this year. I will first say a few words about the wider economic landscape. As Deputies are aware, the global economy is facing its second major energy price shock in less than five years. As a small, highly open economy and a net energy importer, Ireland is naturally exposed to movements …

I met protesters on the march. I did not go anywhere. I was not booed either.

Not at all.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions today. I join in the congratulations to my colleague. It is a great honour to be elected at any stage but he will be particularly pleased to be re-elected during a by-election. I offer him my best wishes for the remainder of this term. Neither I nor anyone in Government are patting themselves on the back. We are acknowledging and outlining the measures we have introduced in response to a global issue. The one thing we can all agree on is the need to continually monit…

Deputy Doherty also called for the carbon tax to be further reduced for kerosene, as well as for further reductions in the mineral oil tax for other fuels. The Government has deferred the planned increase in carbon tax scheduled for 1 May until October. This will impact green diesel and non-propellant fuels such as kerosene, heating oil, natural gas and solid fuels. A number of speakers made the point that they are aware of old age pensioners who were going cold because they simply had no money for fuel. That shoul…

He did not claim that he did.

With regard to the carbon tax, some speakers referred to no concrete measures being taken to reduce the long-term cost of energy for people. The deep retrofitting of houses is making sure that people who are in receipt of fuel allowance, who are more likely to be susceptible to fuel poverty, have lower energy costs in the longer term. In 2025, €469 million was spent on the retrofitting of homes. They are permanent measures. I see it first hand in my constituency, and I am sure others see it also. Some €140 million …

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform, Digitalisation, and Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)(b) and 188(1).

The motor insurance transparency code was launched as a priority measure under the Government action plan for insurance reform from 2025 to 2029 to enhance transparency, clarity and consumer understanding in the motor insurance market. The code was developed by a working group comprising insurers and intermediaries with the support of the Department of Finance and the Central Bank. The code is designed to complement, rather than duplicate, existing regulatory requirements. It sits under the legislative umbrella of …

As the Deputy will be aware, we are implementing the second action plan on insurance reform. Reforms are working. The latest CSO data of April 2026 shows that in the year to date insurance premiums are 2.2% lower this year than in April 2025. The Deputy may want to dispute that figure. Premiums are still 35.8% lower than they were at the peak of 2016. I acknowledge that we need to keep a close focus on this to ensure we continue to see a downward move. This transparency code will help to achieve that. Some 2.2 mill…

Insurance premiums have fallen in the past couple of months, according to the CSO.

That is a welcome development. There were a couple of years where there were increases. We are still 35% lower than we were at the peak. That is a success. The reason we re-established the action plan on insurance reform was that we acknowledged there was more work to be done. We are doing that. The transparency code has been published in a timely and efficient manner. Consumers will see the benefit of that code in their renewals come quarter 3 of this year. The last time the Deputy raised the question with me rega…

The Government is committed to supporting the continued development and expansion of the credit union sector, recognising, as the Deputy does, its important role in providing community-based financial services. A range of legislative and regulatory measures have been delivered and the focus now is on the development of a new five-year strategy for the credit union sector. On 19 April, I formally announced the commencement of the credit union strategy project. This programme for Government commitment will, for the f…

I could not agree more. Certainly, since my appointment, I have been struck, as I go around the country visiting different credit unions, just how in tune they are with their members' needs and how ambitious they are to meet the enhanced needs of the communities they represent. That is why the amended lending regulations, which came in on 30 September last year, offer a huge opportunity to the credit union movement to really compete in the mortgage sector and in the SME lending sector. As I work with the sector to …

The credit union is an extremely trusted financial institution. In fact, for ten years in a row the credit union movement has have been awarded the ranking of the most reputable brand. There are huge opportunities based on the very trust its members have in its service. We have already seen that the amended lending regulations has given credit unions opportunities in both the mortgage space and the SME lending space, and there is an appetite there to exploit the opportunities that exist. I have been very strong in …

I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this matter in the House today. I also acknowledge his advocacy on this issue since his election to Dáil Éireann. Capital acquisitions tax, CAT, is a beneficiary-orientated tax that is payable by the recipient of a gift or inheritance as opposed to the person providing that gift or inheritance. CAT plays an important role in ensuring that we maintain a broad tax base. It raised €854 million in 2024 and approximately €1.1 billion in 2025. For CAT purposes, the relationship between t…