I will deal very briefly with the taxation situation because it has been mentioned. Real estate investment trusts, REITs, which I mentioned earlier, are companies and are obliged under the legislation to distribute 85% of their earnings every year. A standard 25% withholding tax is levied on that. That is twice the rate of corporation tax which companies pay. Some people believe these companies should be paying corporation tax but, in fact, the investor pays tax at a rate of 25%, which is twice that of corporation …

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for raising this matter and will report her remarks directly back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, if I do not get to cover them all in the short time available. The Government is acutely aware of the difficult situation facing the taxi and small public service vehicle, SPSV, industry. Yesterday, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, met with the advisory committee on SPSVs to hear first hand about the difficulties facing the sector and to discuss the challenges…

In response to the Senator's two specific requests, I assure her that I will speak directly to the Minister about meeting taxi driver representatives. The Senator mentioned members of the Government parties as well. She also mentioned the issue of extending the rule that requires vehicles be replaced every ten years. I understand, and I am subject to correction, that it is in place for this year but was not in place last year. There is a bit of a lacuna and taxi drivers might be waiting for clarification on that. I…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The proposal is as follows: "The need for the Minister for Finance to examine the feasibility of a legislative change to allow children to take out life cover in respect of their parents for the specific purpose of paying inheritance tax after the death of the parent(s)." I might come back to some of the other points the Senator has raised in my second contribution. The issue of inheritance tax after the death of an individual's parents is a sensitive subject, and one whe…

I thank the Senator for his remarks. I understand the issue of insurable interest is fundamental to every insurance policy and it is not easy to get over the situation of people taking out an insurance policy unless they can prove that they have interest in the policy. That is one issue. I take on board the Senator's second point completely. If it is payable to the estate, I would be afraid and the Senator would be concerned that the Revenue would include it as part of the estate and subject to taxation as part of …

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I want to include the wording of the actual motion in the Official Report so people will be absolutely clear what I am replying to. The matter the Senator submitted asked if the Minister for Finance "would consider changing the rates of 'taxes on mobility' such as stamp duty and inheritance tax, which disincentivise downsizing and make moving house particularly difficult for people in certain financial circumstances." I will address the two different taxes that have been …

I thank the Senator for his remarks. The gist of what I said referred to people who were downsizing, as mentioned by the Senator. I took that to mean parents who were selling a house and downsizing to a smaller house. The Senator raised the example of people in an apartment, perhaps an expensive one, who want to sell it and move on to more suitable accommodation. That is a point I did not particularly cover because I was dealing only with the downsizing aspect the Senator mentioned. Every €1 counts in a decision to…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As she is aware, the FSU has suggested the establishment of a banking forum involving all relevant stakeholders coming together to discuss the future of banking in Ireland. When the Minister for Finance met the FSU last December, he highlighted that he did not think that our Department should participate in such a forum. His concern in this regard was that the participation of a competent authority in the formulation of proposals and recommendations which would then be sub…

Again, I thank the Deputy for raising those points, particularly in the context of her party's position on this matter. I understand from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications that An Post is transforming its retail network by delivering new products in all formats, including loans, credit cards, more foreign exchange products, insurance products, local banking, in association with the major banks, and a full range of State service products. If the Deputy requires any further information on …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 144 together. The provision and pricing of insurance products are underpinned by the EU Solvency II directive insurance framework. Consequently, neither the Minister for Finance nor the Central Bank of Ireland can direct insurance companies as to their business activities, nor can they compel any insurer operating in the Irish market to provide refunds to its customers as this is a commercial matter. However, working to protect insurance policyholders during and after the Cov…

A number of key achievements have already happened in the past few months since we went into government and as a result of the Action Plan for Insurance Reform. We established a new office to promote competition in the insurance market which I chair. That entails meeting the individual companies which operate in the State to ask them to increase their risk appetite. That means for them to go into sectors in which they are not currently. I have met with some companies that have already withdrawn from certain sectors…

I acknowledge the Deputy's points about the State's involvement in insurance. Through the State Claims Agency we have very extensive involvement in settling insurance claims taken against any public body, as well as Irish public bodies that are not State bodies but are connected very closely to the local authorities, and it covers all claims against local authorities and education and training boards. The State itself is directly involved in settling claims and we have first-hand experience of that. The private ins…

As I indicated earlier, I am meeting with the chief executives of each of the major insurance companies in Ireland over the next fortnight and I want to give an assurance to the Deputy that I will specifically put that item on the agenda for those insurance companies that deal with sports clubs, and not with just these clubs but with other voluntary sector organisations, together with groups and people in the community sector who also have difficulty in getting insurance. I will be asking those who are involved in …

I want to thank both Deputies for their contributions and I also appreciate the summary provided of the activities we have carried out in the insurance sector. I have concentrated on the judicial guidelines but our priorities for the next three months include the reform of the duty of care legislation, which is very important for all businesses, especially for sporting, voluntary and community organisations where accidents can happen. We are strengthening the law on perjury; enhancing the enforcement powers of the …

Two issues were mentioned in particular regarding the hospitality sector. Last Friday, I met the Irish Hotels Federation and a key issue it is concerned about is the wider support for those in the industry from the Government, for which they are grateful. They would not continue to exist without this high level of support. Separately, today I met a group of 20 hoteliers from the Munster region to discuss insurance. They made a number of key points, which we are taking on board. Some of them rely on underwriters fro…

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue this morning. I listened carefully to everything she said. The Senator seems to be knowledgeable of VAT regulations in Ireland and the UK and I want to thank her for the excellent presentation of the case. However, as the Senator may be aware, Ireland is the only country in the EU that applies a 0% VAT rate to period products such as tampons and sanitary towels. This rate was applied in 1991 and we have been able to maintain this rate under the provisions of the …

I again thank the Senator. I will take on board, and take back to the Department of Finance, the issue of the luxury rate on incontinence pads. I know they can be a very heavy cost for many families. We all know, through our work as local public representatives, community nurses regularly provide substantial amounts of incontinence pads, through the HSE, to patients in their areas who require them. However, we all hear locally they can sometimes be rationed. Some people are provided with incontinence pads through t…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to discuss banking matters here this evening. As the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has touched on, this debate, like so many others, is now set against the backdrop of Covid-19. Covid-19 is the most significant shock the banking system has faced since the financial crash of over a decade ago. Nevertheless, the banking reforms introduced since the last crisis have helped to maintain financial stability at this difficult time. For example, over recent years, Irish ban…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “That” and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Insurance (Restriction on Differential Pricing and Profiling) Bill 2021 be deemed to be read a second time this day nine months, to allow for greater analysis of the complex issues concerned following the publication of the Central Bank’s final report on differential pricing later this year; and for such considerations to be taken into account in further scrutiny of the Bill." At the start of this …

I welcome this debate and thank the 20 Deputies who contributed to it, covering a large number of issues. In the first instance, everybody recognises that the wage subsidy schemes, the earlier one and the current one, have been a central pillar of the Government's response to the economic impact of Covid-19 by supporting viable firms and encouraging employment. To that end, it is an important bridge between social welfare payments such as the pandemic unemployment payment and regular employment, which is the ultima…