The information is already on the website and we do not need to produce a report on what is on the website. It is there for everybody to see. I might also add, insofar as EWSS is concerned, the main purpose of the Bill was to give statutory effect to the enhancements that were agreed by Government that are currently being operated by the Revenue under the care and management provision. Importantly, the Central Statistics Office has recently issued a publication stating that 84% of enterprises survived at the end of…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 24, to delete lines 9 to 56, and in page 25, to delete lines 1 to 16 and substitute the following: “11. (1) The Finance Act 1999 is amended with effect as on and from 10 March 2022 by the substitution of the following Schedule for Schedule 2: “SCHEDULE 2 RATES OF MINERAL OIL TAX I will deal with amendment No. 3 in the first few moments of my contribution and I will then, as part of the group discussion, deal with the Opposition amendments from Deputy Doherty. Amendment No. 3 provides…

I acknowledge the amendments put forward by the Deputy in response to the Government amendment. With regard to the issues he raised around the tax warehousing scheme, this scheme is an essential element of the assistance provided by the State with the EWSS and TWSS. The tax debt warehousing scheme has offered valuable and practical liquidity support to businesses. It has assisted businesses with their cash flow during difficult trading periods. The objective of the scheme was to allow firms to recover, thereby help…

No. We have had quite a discussion on the contents of this Bill, both during the resolutions last week and again here today. It was also previously discussed on Committee Stage and we had a number of debates last week during Private Members' time dealing with cost-of-living issues, which were very much concentrated on the issues before us. We have had extensive debate so I have nothing further to add to what I have said on the topic in this House in the last week or so.

I thank the Deputy for raising this, and I join other Members in giving condolences to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, on the sad passing of his mother. In regard to the question at hand, the Minister for Finance and the Government are very conscious of the negative impact the rapid rise in energy costs is having on society. The Government is doing everything within its powers to address the issue. However, it is not possible to insulate people completely from these increases as factors causing them, such as the war …

Our context did mention the issue of VAT and the VAT directives in that correspondence from the Minister, and as the Deputy is aware, following lengthy negotiations, amendments to the VAT directive were provisionally agreed in December 2021 with final sign-off on the amended text at ECOFIN, in April 2022. This new arrangement came into effect on 5 April, so the Deputy can see discussions in regard to this were ongoing well before the end of last year. Under the new arrangement, Annex III of the VAT directive was ex…

As the Deputy will be aware, the current VAT rate of 13.5% applies to energy products. It is a part rate and cannot be reduced below 12%. It should be noted that member states must apply their standard rate of VAT to this product. Our historical derogation covered electricity, gas, fuel and oil. This meant Ireland applied the rate of 13.5% to those products in comparison with other European countries which applied it at a rate of more than 20%. Had Ireland adopted the reduced rate on the basis of Article 102, it wo…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 3 together. I am aware the European Commission has confirmed that EU member states can consider imposing temporary tax measures on windfall profits of energy providers and use the revenue generated to provide consumers with relief from high prices. Officials in the Department and in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications are evaluating the potential for such a proposal. The Deputy will appreciate that significant work would have to be undertaken as part …

I thank the Deputies. Windfall taxes on energy companies require careful consideration. A windfall tax could create unintended consequences. For example, it could disincentivise investment in renewable energy generation, as there would be uncertainty on profits returned for generators entering the market. Interventions such as windfall taxes may have the potential to reduce the energy costs for consumers through redistribution of additional tax revenues, but they may also themselves be a driver of costs to consumer…

I again thank the Deputies. I confirm that the Government is working with the European Commission and member states to consider the policy proposal outlined in its REPowerEU document designed to aid consumers and businesses to deal with the increasing cost of energy. A number of potential measures have been set out by the European Commission under that initiative at European level, including introducing a price cap on the wholesale price of electricity, price limits for trading gas in the EU, and negotiating volume…

The position is that the matter of refundable tax credits was looked at in some detail in 2002 by the working group established under the programme for prosperity and fairness. The group was chaired by the Department of Finance and included representatives from Irish Congress of Trade Unions, IBEC, various farming organisations, the community and voluntary pillar, relevant Departments and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. Notwithstanding the passage of time, many of the findings and conclusions identified by…

The Deputy is quite right; much has changed since those reports were produced. The principal change was the introduction of and increase to the minimum wage from €8.65 to €10.50. We would all like if this rate was higher, but that is a significant increase in the context that we had no provision for a minimum wage in legislation when that work was commissioned. Social Justice Ireland said that the changes in the last two budgets would benefit a one-income married couple by as much as 39 cent a week. That is simply …

I understand what the Deputy is saying. Looking at it strictly, the only benefit the State can confer on people is solely through the taxation system. I understand that point from a very narrow perspective. That point of view may or may not have validity but, looking at it in the broader context of low-income families, the arguments being put forward have to be reviewed in a wider context. For example, the working family payment scheme is very important, especially for people who are at work. If they have one or tw…

Yes, it is a matter of prioritisation. We have issues in respect of medical card benefits. There are a number of other benefits-----

You will if you are on a low income-----

-----and people on the minimum wage. Many families are entitled to get medical cards.

There are broader issues than that of income tax.

As the Deputy said, we had a discussion on this issue last night. It is no harm to revisit the matter here. It is important to do so on this occasion. Ireland's taxation on fuel is governed by European Union law as set out in Directive 2003/96/ED, commonly known as the energy tax directive, ETD. The ETD prescribes minimum tax rates for fuel with which all member states must comply. ETD provisions on mineral oils are transposed into national law in the Finance Act 1999, as amended. This Act provides for the applicat…

Carbon tax is part of Ireland's overall decarbonisation policy. Nobody likes a tax, but we cannot on the one hand support all the climate change measures and on the other oppose the inclusion of carbon tax as part of that programme. While the financing side of it is always the hard bit, people agree with the principle. We cannot implement our principles unless we raise the revenue to do so. In the context of the increases in consumer prices in recent months, in February the Government approved a package of measures…

I hear what the Deputy is saying, but the collection of carbon taxes is a key ingredient of our climate plan. It is no good having a plan unless we raise some money to cover it. I understand the technical point the Deputy made but, in an overall context, there is no point in having a plan to reduce carbon emissions and then saying we will not have any tax specifically for that purpose. It is important that the people know they are contributing. The majority of people generally support the moves to decarbonise Irish…