Ged Nash
Louth · Labour Party · Ireland
“However, it is a rich country that has a problem understanding that it is now sustainably rich. Those of us in opposition will, of course, say that this country needs to do better, and it can.”
“On the one hand, it is legitimate for an Opposition party to critique the economic model day in, day out. I do it myself all of the time, and we all know that Ireland can do better. However, at the same time, is that kind of critique helping to persuade those whom we need to persuade into a new Ireland? I am not so sure that it is.”
“There will be fiscal and financial implications for this State in that transition. There is an obligation on us, insofar as we can, to properly interrogate and consider those implications and to be upfront about them.”
“No, it did not, but let us not exaggerate its impact on the Irish economy. It is good and it had an impact, but was there a causal relationship? I am not so sure. The jury is out on that. However, is the Good Friday Agreement a good thing and good for our economy? Of course, it is. Did the guns fall silent in the North?”
“We are not good at describing what those accommodations will be or what that relationship with the UK will be, whether economically, socially, politically, culturally or otherwise. It is a relationship that will have to be maintained. It will look very different as we approach a new Ireland.”
“That was a very different prospect when the vast majority, if not all, of East German citizens wanted to become part of a united German polity. As we know, that is not the case on this island. We need to be careful about how we approach that.”
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“I cling to the idea that, surely, because of our economic performance, because of the potential of this part of the island and what we have done at a top line over the last few years, we can persuade people that unionist, loyalist and dissenter can do better in a new Ireland - that jobs will be better, that businesses can do better and that there will be a material difference to the lives of everybody. It is on that basis that we have to proceed. We need to be serious about that, and we need to be serious about the fiscal implications. While we are looking at the finances, we need to look at the costs but also the opportunities.”
“During my spell from 2014 to 2016 as Minister of State with responsibility for enterprise, we tried to host a joint Enterprise Ireland-InterTradeIreland trade mission in the United Arab Emirates for a very significant health med-tech initiative. InterTradeIreland was on board and Enterprise Ireland was on board, but that exercise was being resisted by my counterpart at the time in the northern Executive, Arlene Foster. These are the challenges that we have. That is why I circle back to this point.”
“Yes, there will be costs, but there are opportunities in a remodelled economy. For example, a new Ireland would obtain a very different culture in the manufacturing space than we have had traditionally in some parts of this country, given the experience in Belfast and the concentration of some important industries in Belfast, Derry and elsewhere. There are economies of scale that we could develop for significant infrastructure development and, for example, we hope that the A5 would materialise in a way that we would like. We have a major problem in this country with scaling up indigenous enterprises and ensuring that Irish companies can go global from here. I will share with the House one anecdote.”
“We know, for example, that the Dundalk Institute of Technology will transition to university status thanks to its relationship with Queen’s University. In real life, in everyday terms, these relationships are forming anyway because they make sense, and they are continuing to form. At the invitation of SDLP colleagues, I spoke at a meeting in Warrenpoint recently about the ways in which we can better develop cross-border health services. There are huge opportunities in the context of heart and stroke services, cancer services and so on, but those opportunities are not being developed in the way we or our constituents would like. There are barriers still, for a host of different reasons. There are obvious opportunities in a united Ireland on that side of the ledger.”
“We see this in practical terms, day in, day out, in the relationships developing between businesses on both sides of what is now, thankfully, a permeable and invisible border. These are relationships that were always there, but they were damaged by partition. Chambers of commerce are working together closely in Drogheda, Dundalk and Newry. Local authorities are working closely in Louth, Newry, Mourne and so on. We have seen the development of the Narrow Water Bridge, which will open shortly - I walked by it only two or three weeks ago. That is a manifestation of what is possible. There is the development of the Enterprise network linking Dublin, Drogheda and Dundalk with Newry, Portadown, Belfast and so on. The frequency of those services is making a real impact.”
“That was a very different prospect when the vast majority, if not all, of East German citizens wanted to become part of a united German polity. As we know, that is not the case on this island. We need to be careful about how we approach that. The economic argument that we can make on this part of the island is a strong one, and should continue to be a strong one. In his opening contribution, the Tánaiste said that we need to look at both sides of the ledger when it comes to the financial and fiscal implications of a united Ireland. He is absolutely right. Those of us who represent constituencies like Louth see this every day, and my colleague, Deputy Ó Murchú, will undoubtedly speak about this as well. The impact of partition on places like Louth has been profound, but the impact of peace has been profound as well.”
“We have solid, important work being carried out on an ongoing basis by, for example, ARINS, and that work is socialised by The Irish Times , which gives it a platform to try to disseminate that really important information to be popularly consumed and interrogated. That is very important. I disagree with the leader of Sinn Féin, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald - I think Michelle O'Neill also said it some years ago - that this is something that is being discussed at kitchen tables across the country. I do not believe it is. However, it should be, and I hope it will be. We need more detail because people will naturally ask what the implications are for them. Deputy Malcolm Byrne referred to the experience of uniting Germany.”
“They have not thought about the implications of their little Englander mentality. Brexit shows us the vulnerability and the risks of not being prepared, of not considering the impact of referendums, not considering what the question is, not considering transitional arrangements and costs and so on. That needs to be properly thought out but, to date, it has not been. Of course, as others have said, this is a very contested space. We have had research carried out by the IIEA that says one thing, research carried out by Professor Doyle that says another thing, and the ESRI saying something entirely different.”
“We are not good at describing what those accommodations will be or what that relationship with the UK will be, whether economically, socially, politically, culturally or otherwise. It is a relationship that will have to be maintained. It will look very different as we approach a new Ireland. When looking at our preparedness, or lack thereof, Brexit is the single biggest warning from our recent history. We could very well end up with Nigel Farage having the keys of No. 10 and the prospect of a united Ireland by some kind of default coming down the tracks much quicker than we thought. We are not prepared. Nigel Farage and Reform UK could not give a monkey’s toss about what some would describe as the Celtic fringe of these islands, and that is the reality. They do not understand history. They have not thought about it.”
“Call me old-fashioned, but I cling to the idea that every parent wants what is best for their children. Every grandparent wants what is best for their grandchildren. That includes continuing the development of the economy, providing good jobs and educational opportunities and so on. The more we develop this State and resolve its problems, and the problems are manifold, the better chance we have of persuading those who do not agree with us at the moment to join us on this journey and persuading them of the merits of it. As I say, most people want what is best for their children, regardless of what their political affiliations might be, and those affiliations, by the way, need to be accommodated in the new Ireland.”
“On the one hand, it is legitimate for an Opposition party to critique the economic model day in, day out. I do it myself all of the time, and we all know that Ireland can do better. However, at the same time, is that kind of critique helping to persuade those whom we need to persuade into a new Ireland? I am not so sure that it is. The arguments are different on both sides of the Border, and I make that point with the greatest of respect. That is perhaps a challenge for a party that is organised on both sides of the Border, and I understand that. As we know, the North has deep, systemic problems. It is still a deeply divided region and polity and, while we have peace, we do not have reconciliation. There are those who are far too invested in fighting the war by other means, politically, and that is continuing to divide that society.”
“However, it is a rich country that has a problem understanding that it is now sustainably rich. Those of us in opposition will, of course, say that this country needs to do better, and it can. Those problems are not problems of money and resources any more; they are problems to do with ideology, philosophy and different interpretations on how our economy should be run and how public services should be invested in. They are not challenges that cannot be overcome. They can be overcome, and, of course, I will say that they can be overcome if different political decisions are taken, but politics is capable of fixing this country. I am often kind of alarmed, and I say this with the greatest of respect to my friends and colleagues in Sinn Féin, that there is a degree of partitionism in the way in which that party approaches this question.”
“No, it did not, but let us not exaggerate its impact on the Irish economy. It is good and it had an impact, but was there a causal relationship? I am not so sure. The jury is out on that. However, is the Good Friday Agreement a good thing and good for our economy? Of course, it is. Did the guns fall silent in the North? Yes, they did, and that is a good thing and it allowed the economy in the North to develop, albeit at a different rate to our own. There are features of the economy in the North that need to be addressed and need our support and the support of the UK to be addressed. With the notable exception of the crash years and the great recession, the story of the economy in the Republic of Ireland has been one of consistent growth, economic development and more or less full employment for a considerable period.”
“There will be fiscal and financial implications for this State in that transition. There is an obligation on us, insofar as we can, to properly interrogate and consider those implications and to be upfront about them. While I do not want to reach too far back in Irish history, it is important that we have a considered look at the experience of Ireland in the past 30 years. The story has been one of significant economic and social divergence. It is an unpopular thing to say, and it is a contested space, but I hear lots of people, especially from Fianna Fáil, talking about how the transformation of the economy in the Republic of Ireland was down to the Good Friday Agreement in some way. That is a contested space. The transformation of the Irish economy was under way from the early 1990s. Did the Good Friday Agreement do it any harm?”
“In recent years, I have detected a timidity at government level about how we advance the objectives that I want to see emerge and which are facilitated and catered for in the Good Friday Agreement on how we approach that challenge, ambition and aspiration that I validly have and on which, of course, many on this island disagree with us. Accommodations will have to be reached with those who disagree with us, and we need to be honest and upfront about that. We also need to be prepared to say what those accommodations look like and how we can make them if it really is our objective to arrive at what I, Deputy Currie and others describe as a new Ireland, a different Ireland. It is not going to be the same and there will be accommodations that may be uncomfortable for some of us, but they will have to be arrived at.”
“Processes will need to be put in place by those of us who are serious about uniting this country, outside of the romantic vision of what our forefathers fought for and all of the rest of it. That work has to happen now. We have to prepare for it and we have to do it. Not only will it have to be led by Government, it will have to be supported by the Opposition as well, because if we cannot agree in this House on the way forward in a consensual fashion, how are we going to persuade those who disagree with us and have a right to disagree with us? That right to disagree with us is enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement, which was agreed with the consent of all of the people, North and South, so we know the structure that is in place.”
“I note Deputy Gould's emotive and emotional remarks and his tour of recent Irish history, but the focus of this debate and this society need to be on the present and on preparing for the future. I mean it most sincerely that there is an onus on us and a responsibility on all of us who believe that uniting Ireland is the best way in which we can serve the material interests of our people to ditch the sloganeering, be less reliant on the four green fieldisms and to have less of a focus on what I might describe as the Kneecapification of Irish history and to focus on a future in which we can all believe. We should also focus on the ways in which we can persuade those who do not agree with us to join us on that journey, because accommodations will need to be reached.”
“I repeat that I want to see, as I know the Tánaiste does, the victims, survivors and the Dignity4Patients group centrally involved in helping to craft the terms of reference, based on the truism that nothing should be done for and with victims without them.”
“We need to shine a light into the dark recesses of our society and into the agencies and organisations that allowed the actions of this prolific paedophile to continue unchallenged for over 30 years. I was very moved when I read the report this morning and the initial passage where Lorcan Staines said that "a further State response is required." That line is the line for which we have all been waiting for 30 years after a number of failed attempts and State-backed initiatives to address many of these issues. There is a novel way forward here that is being proposed. It is interesting and I hope it will work.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for his personal interest in this over the years and that of the Taoiseach as well. I acknowledge the work the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has done in representing her constituents over the years who have been affected by the actions of this despicable man, who was convicted a number of years ago of a number of criminal offences but, as I have repeatedly said, a spell in jail does not justice make.”
“A light must be shone into the environment that allowed a prolific paedophile to operate within our public health service, with impunity and unchallenged for over 30 years. Questions have to be asked of the former North Eastern Health Board, the order that ran the Lourdes hospital, the Garda, the Medical Council, the DPP and other agencies which knew very well what was going on. The dogs in the street in Drogheda knew what Shine was doing to young boys and men and that is why a statutory inquiry is of critical importance. I have two questions. Will the men, the Dignity4Patients group, be involved centrally in having the terms of reference with the Attorney General agreed?”
“Deputy Joanna Byrne would be very familiar with many of them as would Deputy Butterly. I have said time and again that a spell in jail does not justice make.”
“their experiences have shaped the report and its recommendations ...". The overwhelming emotion this morning among the men is one of relief; relief that they are being listened to. They are so used to having doors slammed in their faces. A door to truth and recovery and real restorative justice is now being opened by the State through the Government. In the words of Dignity4Patients: ... [We are] very pleased that this has happened today. It is a historic moment in that ... finally there is something on the record going towards full vindication of all of the victims and survivors of convicted sex offender Michael Shine. Many of these men, the victims and survivors, are friends of mine. They are people who I went to school with, played football with and hung around with.”
“Over 15 years on and over 30 years since the courageous nurse and founder of Dignity4Patients, Bernadette Sullivan, put her neck on the line by reporting the mishandling of the first complaint against Shine, we now have a pledge to move towards a six phase commission of investigation, chaired by one person and to be run concurrently. I wish to formally thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, her staff, Lorcan Staines and Gemma McLoughlin Burke who developed the report, the expert involvement of Maeve Lewis and Phil Scraton, Adrienne Reilly and her team at Dignity4Patients, but most of all the men who never let go and fought day and night with real dignity to be heard. As the Minister of Health said in her press statement alongside the report, "...”
“The spectre of Michael Shine has hung over the town of Drogheda and the wider region for decades. Today is an important day for the hundreds of victims and survivors of this disgraced, convicted sex offender and former doctor. There is now a way forward through the recommendations of the scoping report published an hour ago. This is a day when we can say we are a step further along the road of truth and accountability and that we are a little closer to laying this ghost to rest. Over 15 years ago, I made my very first contribution in the Dail on this issue. I chose my maiden speech in here to draw attention to the crimes of a man who abused hundreds, possibly thousands, of young men in my community. I made that contribution at a time when help and the hope that justice would ever be done was in very short supply.”
“It is a good thing that we are finally coming to terms with the challenges of our past in this country. Nothing will change the experience of the survivors of Kenneally or indeed anybody else but it is crucially important the State institutes processes that acknowledge wrong, that ensure, insofar as we can, that the State acknowledges that and works towards a better future, and that we learn from how the State and institutions that were involved in the form of abuse that was experienced in Waterford and elsewhere. We all need to acknowledge that and do better on behalf of all the citizens in this country. It is important that we do that and move on from that. I pay tribute on behalf of the Labour Party to all of you for your engagement in this process. I hope, as I said earlier, that some form of healing can emerge from this.”
“As my colleague, Deputy Bacik, said, today is for you and about you. I hope that today marks an important milestone for you and a step on the road to a form of healing that has been denied to you all for far too long. If survivors in the Gallery will indulge me for a moment, it is serendipitous that on the day on which an apology is formally made to you in the Dáil for the wrongs the State has done to you, a report has gone to Cabinet in respect of a scoping exercise into the conduct of Michael Shine. It is important that today is about the process we are dealing with but I acknowledge the intensive work the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health have done in supporting the survivors and victims of Michael Shine, and that we will see progress, as I expect we will, at some point in the future.”
“The Minister needs to lay that out here and this report needs to be published before the Dáil rises next Thursday so we can properly debate the report and ensure we are showing the type of real practical support to the people of Ukraine that we ought to be providing.”
“At this point in time, given that the investigation has been up and running a number of weeks or so now, it is hard to accept that there is no evidence that the Minister is prepared to put on the public record that Aughinish Alumina is, in fact, exporting materials to Russia that are being used for the military effort and to assist the Russian military complex. It is a little bit hard to take and accept at this point in time, given that the investigation has been up and running for a number of weeks or so now, that there is not any evidence the Minister is prepared to put on the public record that Aughinish Alumina is, in fact, exporting materials to Russia that are being used for the military effort and to assist the Russian military complex.”
“The Russians are not using alumina from Aughinish to make Ladas. It is as simple as that. If it is 1%, that is 1% too much. We can argue whether the data says 80% or 50% but, if any scintilla of material from Aughinish is going to the Russian war effort in its illegal war on Ukraine, Ireland needs to stand up. We cannot be selective in the kind of solidarity we show to Ukraine and its civilian population. We need to back Ukraine 100%. The Minister recently said on "Morning Ireland" that he had no information showing that exports from Aughinish are being used to kill Ukrainian civilians.”
“We are constantly being told that this operation is important to Ireland as an employer and an energy supplier and that it is vital to the EU industry supply chain. If that is the case, it is an absolute dereliction of duty if the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister's Department are not preparing plans with the European Commission to temporarily take over ownership of this facility, especially when Sweden has determined that the parent company is still controlled by a sanctioned Russian billionaire. I have three simple questions for the Minister. When will the investigation be completed and the report published? Is there political division between the Government parties over Aughinish Alumina? Has the Minister's Department drawn up any plans, contingency or otherwise, to nationalise the Aughinish refinery?”
“After all of their strong words of support for Ukraine over many years, it is deeply concerning that Fianna Fáil MEPs abstained on a non-binding motion. The Minister's party's MEP took the morally correct position that we need a ban on these exports to Russia. Does the Minister support them? It looks to me as if Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are divided on this critical issue. As Labour has said for months, there are options open to us to stop these lethal exports while also protecting jobs. The plant must be nationalised. We will support the Government in taking strong action that sends out an important message internationally as to where we stand. However, the Tánaiste said last week that he had not been part of any discussions about a possible nationalisation of the refinery. That is an astonishing statement to make.”
“Even 1% is 1% too much. Let us remember Zelenskyy's words. He said that every tonne is being used against Ukraine. That alumina is killing innocent Ukrainians every single day. Apartment blocks are being indiscriminately hit by Russian missiles and drones made with Irish materials. This is seriously damaging to our international reputation. We are complicit. Yesterday, the European Parliament voted in favour of a proposal to ban alumina exports to Russia. This amendment was put forward by the Labour Party's S and D group colleagues and the Minister's party's own grouping, the European People's Party. We welcome Fine Gael and Sinn Féin's support for an export ban. It is disturbing that Independent Ireland's MEP voted in support of the continued export of materials of murder.”
“Another week has gone by and there is still no sign of the report on Aughinish Alumina from the Minister's Department. It is now over three months since The Irish Times published its investigation on 24 March. It is a month since Deputy Bacik asked the Taoiseach to bring forward a solution to protect jobs and to put in place a ban on exports to Russia. It is eight days since President Zelenskyy delivered a hard truth, which is that every tonne of raw materials that ends up in Russia is used in the war against Ukraine. The evidence in the public domain is damning. The report in The Irish Times clearly showed that, based on official national statistics, over 80% of alumina from Ireland was being shipped to Russia and turned into weapons. The Minister's Department has disputed this. It says the percentage is less than 50%.”
“We need a fossil fuel-run car scrappage scheme to ensure the electric vehicle revolution we need. As others have said, we also need the reintroduction of targeted energy credits in the next budget to ensure that heating our homes and businesses is more affordable in the interim, as we make that move to renewables.”
“The motion leans extremely heavily on charges associated with fossil fuels. We are not going to make energy cheaper in this country if we continue to rely on fossil fuels and just keep chasing the price by reducing excise duty and carbon taxes. What we need is a radical approach, a revolution of renewables. That means doing the necessary on offshore wind, realising that moonshot moment the former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, spoke eloquently about a number of years ago before doing very little about it in reality. It means making sure that undertaking deep retrofits of our homes is not merely a pursuit for the middle class and the wealthy. We need to make sure that SEAI grants to retrofit our homes and introduce renewables are affordable and income-based.”
“The Government has wasted a boom, is reckless with the economy and is imprudent with the public finances. It is working people and people who depend on the State for their incomes who are being affected by this. Those chickens will come home to roost. The people who will pay are those who depend on the State for their income and working people, including public servants, who the Government has decided not to talk to about a successor to the current public sector pay deal, which ran out yesterday. That goes to show where this Government's priorities are. I will make some basic points on the motion. There is much to be welcomed, although I would quibble with many aspects. There is no reference to the need to restructure our childcare and early years system to make sure that childcare is affordable for families.”
“Edgar Morgenroth said in the media yesterday that fiscal policy in this country is now run by lobbyists. We may regard ourselves as advocates of the people and - dare I say it - lobbyists for the people of this country but there are very few people in this House who are standing up for the taxpayer. The days when Fine Gael would have said it stood up for the taxpayer are gone because of stupid tax cuts like the one introduced yesterday, which makes no sense whatsoever and actually comes at the expense of working people. Working people are paying for this because the resources available for some basic tax relief for working people last year was swallowed up by one of the stupidest in a long line of stupid tax cuts this Government has introduced since 2020. In fact, I will go as far back as 2016.”
“The reality is that, outside of thinking that throwing money at problems is a solution, the Government has no solution to the structural problems facing our economy and our society. For example, if the Government thinks that the structural problems in the hospitality sector can be addressed by throwing an inefficient and stupid tax cut at hospitality businesses, it has another thing coming. That simply will not work in the way we would all like to see. It makes no sense. In reality, it reflects a paucity of thinking at Government level, a lack of imagination and a tired managerialism at the heart of this Government. The Government has run out of ideas and has no mission or ambition to change this country for the better for the majority. It is simply picking winners.”
“The Minister of State sits across from us practically every week to deal with motions from various Opposition groups so he will know only too well the challenges that families and small businesses across this country are encountering as a result of Ireland being simply unaffordable for far too many people in 2026. This is the umpteenth motion to be tabled in this House since the general election. We like to call this challenge a cost-of-living crisis but it is not a crisis because the word "crisis" suggests something temporary that will pass. This is a permacrisis, for want of a better description. It is a structural problem in our economy that is affecting our society.”
“The Tánaiste and I have a difference in opinion on how we can best support the small cafés and restaurants around the country that we need to support. This expensive blunt instrument is not the way to do it. The way to do it is to introduce targeted energy supports and reform the outdated commercial rate system to address some of the structural cost issues in our SMEs across this country. A blunt instrument like this that is costly and will disproportionately benefit franchises and big chains is not the way to do it.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for going through some of his greatest hits in recent years, but the question is what will be done for working people this year? The Tánaiste has acknowledged that as a result of the untargeted VAT cut for the hospitality sector, PAYE workers had to go without indexation last year, which means more of the money they earn this year - the small increase they get from their pay increase - will by and large go to the taxman. The Tánaiste said earlier in the House that this was wrong and the Government has to make up for that. However, with all the promises made over the past few weeks by various Ministers going through the media rounds, the tax package for this year seems to be already swallowed up.”
“Will the Tánaiste directly call on the hospitality sector to commit to passing on the VAT cuts he is about to introduce, through lower prices for customers across the country?”
“Let us not forget the endless reports and meandering to the media by various Ministers on inheritance tax cuts, when all the while parents are focused on feeding their children and making sure they do not go hungry. Temperatures are rising, but so are prices. What will the Tánaiste do practically to help lower food prices? Next week, the lower VAT rate kicks in and tourists will be arriving from all around the world to eat in our restaurants, which is a good thing. We will have EU diplomats from across member states descending on Dublin and having their takeaway coffees. Families who can afford to might be going out to get a burger this summer, if the good weather continues. Will they be paying lower prices?”
“Looking at last year's budget, we can recall what the Government did not do. There was no indexation of income taxes, no energy credits, no increase in children's allowance and there was a cut to one-off cost-of-living payments. PAYE workers and hard-working families were mogged - mogged by burger barons and the highly profitable hospitality sector. The Tánaiste's Government made the choice to give them a VAT cut, and we know where the Tánaiste's focus has been for much of the past week. It has been on giving the red carpet treatment to influencers who came to the Department to talk to him about his wealth account plans. This contrasts with the carpeting received by PAYE workers in last year's budget.”
“Families already struggling will be hit again with higher energy bills and higher grocery costs in the autumn and winter. As the Tánaiste will know, electricity bills are rapidly rising, with an 8% hike from Electric Ireland in July, which is an extra €140 a year on average family bills. Flogas plans to increase its prices by 10% and we have already seen PrepayPower up its prices in May. The Government has nothing to offer on energy costs, not since it bought its way in the last election. I could ask the Tánaiste what the Government has done to ensure lower food, energy and grocery prices, but the truth is it is a big fat nothing. There has been lots of talk about competition and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, but nothing of substance has been done.”
“"Isolated often at home, [my] child sees me constantly stressed and budgeting/worrying about bills and arrears and going without [the] basics." Those are the words of one parent from the Barnardos cost of living survey published this week. One in five families is cutting back on food due to the cost of living. Nearly half have skipped meals or reduced portions so their children would have enough to eat - in a rich country. Thirty per cent felt that at some point, they did not have enough food to feed their children. Some parents said, "Food for myself, I'm having to go without" and that the "Amount of food we buy had been significantly cut". I could go on. Today, we have more bad news for families up and down the country. The ESRI has warned that food prices will rise even higher because of second-round effects from the Iran war.”
“This is a place where we need to have hard conversations with businesses and workers about the finite resources we have. Is this the best way to use the resources we have? We will have little change out of €2.5 billion between now and 2030 from this VAT cut. My only concern is whether this is the best use of public resources, given this is a sector that all the evidence suggests is, thankfully, adding jobs, not losing them.”
“Of course it will, and who would not want free money? However, that does not address the structural problems we have in the hospitality sector. We had a VAT rate cut of one form or another in place for the vast majority of the past 15 or 16 years. In fact, the Labour Party helped to introduce that back in 2011 to ensure we could generate some jobs in a sector that could quickly add them, and it absolutely did, as the evidence suggests. However, notwithstanding that there are subsets of the hospitality sector that are in difficulty, there is always churn in the sector more broadly. That is not me being callous about it; that is the reality of business. We cannot continue to permanently support the bottom line of every business.”
“There was a limited amount of resources available for a tax package last year, and there will be this year and going forward. The impact of making this decision last year meant that there was no indexation of personal tax rates, bands and credits and the Tánaiste has put on the record that is something he wants to address this year. That comes, of course, at a cost too.”