Paschal Donohoe
Dublin Central · Ireland
“I raise the importance of our economy and funding of public services, and a particularly vital public service referenced in the programme for Government. I do so from the seat in Dáil Éireann that I first pursued and held in 2011.”
“I am proud of the investment we have made through our local authorities in recent years in the funding, and opening, of new libraries. They are cradles of decency. They are beacons of light in a world in which things are changing so much.”
“I thank my own team, who have worked so closely with me over so many years to allow me to do my work as a Minister and a representative of Dublin Central. I acknowledge that this is a complex and tough week for them, and I thank them for all they have done for me to allow me to do the work I have been trusted and privileged to do.”
“I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for his support in the many committees I have appeared in front of that he has chaired and the relentless but always fair way in which he has discharged his duties. I wish everybody in this Dáil happiness, health and success in representing their constituents.”
“31 of 1999), which provides for a stamp duty to be levied on health insurance contracts that are entered into or renewed between authorised insurers and their customers in each quarter, be amended in the manner and to the extent specified in the Act giving effect to this Resolution. 19.”
“39 of 1997), which provides for tax exemptions for a unit trust which neither is, nor is deemed to be, an authorised unit trust scheme, be amended in the manner and to the extent specified in the Act giving effect to this Resolution. 7. THAT section 291A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No.”
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“To answer the Deputy's second question, I will be making the case for this to my colleagues but I appreciate that many of them are facing moments of great danger and risk and are having to make hard choices, which just adds to the responsibility of Ireland to do our bit to make a case for this funding and to add to it where we can.”
“It is really important we have two Deputies here today raising an issue that is so important to global welfare and to many countries that need further support at this time of difficulty. Deputy Ó Fearghaíl asked two questions. The first is about our commitment. I confirm that we will uphold the commitments we have at the moment. Unfortunately, that is not the case for every country at the moment due to the pressure they face, but we will protect the commitments we have to investment in multilateral bodies and our overseas development aid. In conjunction with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, we will do what we can to build upon them.”
“Deputy Murphy is raising an important issue. The welfare of horses is critical to the future of our breeding industry here in Ireland and we also need to ensure the right standards are adhered to to fulfil the commitments we have to animal welfare. I will have to revert to the Deputy, and I will, with a detailed answer to his question because it is important and I do not have a briefing in front of me today that allows me to give the answer the Deputy's question deserves.”
“That, Deputy Gannon, is indeed funding. It is evidence of the commitment we have to make a difference. In conjunction with our budgetary process, which is the way all these things have to come together, we will look at how we can support that report and make sure it gets the funding it needs, just as we have done with the north inner city task force”
“I thank the Deputy. He and I are really lucky to represent the north side of the city centre. I agree with him about the importance of that report. I am meeting a number of councillors on a cross-party basis from Dublin City Council tomorrow on this issue. I can see the changes that are happening in the city centre. I can see more gardaí. I can see the efforts the city council is making to keep it cleaner and safer. The Deputy will also be aware of the opening of the new healthcare facility by the Rotunda in the heart of our city centre.”
“Second, regarding the two programmes we jointly fund with USAID in Zambia and Malawi, and I have been in Malawi itself and know how much it needs this support, we are looking at what options or decisions we can take to support those projects.”
“I genuinely thank Deputy Smith for raising an extremely important issue. As we see, the way in which the world conducts itself and the rules it depends on can be changed and challenged. We should redouble our efforts to ensure those who have the very least do not pay the most, which is a risk due to the decision that regrettably has been made with regard to USAID. Deputy Smith asked what we are doing about it. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will be at the United Nations next week as part of her St. Patrick's Day bilateral engagement. We will engage with the United Nations on this issue to see what support we can offer. We have many bills coming in but I assure the Deputy we will do our best on this issue.”
“That is our commitment and I am sure the Minister for Education will be working and doing her best regarding the important school in Cork.”
“If the Deputy had given me an indication that he was going to raise a single school in Cork, I would have been in a position to perhaps answer his question. He did not. What I am able to do is to give an indication of the absolute commitment the Government has to trying to make more special classes and schools available. There are 3,336 special classes in operation nationwide to do what we can to support those who, early in life, need the educational support. They deserve it and we are working hard to give it. For this school year alone, more than 400 new special classes have been sanctioned on top of the 1,700 that have been sanctioned in the past five years and the 11 new special schools that have been opened, with five more to come.”
“-----with the Secretary of State of the United States of America during the week and the fact the Taoiseach will meet President Trump next week. I have engaged with the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, through a G7 meeting that happened last week. I have met twice with the organisation that is, on a global level, involved in dealing with this issue. That is the engagement we have had. I invite the Deputy to go back. I am informed that international employers in 16 different companies in County Meath employ 3,047 people in the Deputy's constituency and county. Again, I extend the invitation to the Deputy. Go into those companies-----”
“We are also in a position that we are running budget surpluses, the very budget surpluses the Deputy has always said, like his former colleagues in Sinn Féin, we should be spending day after day. The Deputy concluded amidst his diatribe with one question to me regarding what kind of engagement I am having. I am engaging directly with the OECD, which is the key organisation from a tax perspective in this regard. I met its representatives last week regarding this. I have met them on two occasions in recent weeks. This Government, most notably through the engagement we will have with President Trump next week, will look at all ways and at all layers in which we can engage in what is indeed a great challenge to our country.”
“The Minister also outlined the work the Government is doing, that he is central to, in understanding what the economic impact of the environment we are moving into could be, which he and I will jointly conclude with the stability programme update, the economic forecast that will be presented to the Government and the Oireachtas in a few weeks' time. He also made the point. that I will repeat here today, that we are doing that in an environment in which there have never been more people at work in Ireland than there are today. There are 2.8 million people at work. I did not hear the Deputy refer to the unemployment figures that came out earlier in the week which indicated that the unemployment rate is nearly at its lowest ever in the history of Ireland or the fact that we have gone by a position of full employment.”
“That is the Aontú agenda. That is your agenda, Deputy Tóibín. I hear it again and again. As the veil slips, it is also characterised by typical misinformation from the Deputy. I heard the Minister, Deputy Chambers, on "Morning Ireland" this morning. I heard him outline a number of different things, including the reality that we have to yet consider what the United States may do, and, in doing so, it is essential we make the case for trade that is mutually beneficial and that creates jobs and investment in America.”
“I invite Deputy Tóibín to walk into the large employers for which many of his constituents work and tell them that the efforts that they are putting in are bargain basement and that the taxes their work is creating are bargain basement. I invite the Deputy to do a tour of the large employers across our country that have played such a critical role in paying the tax at a time we need it, and in the modernisation and creation of jobs within Ireland, and tell them that this is bargain basement. That is the Aontú agenda.”
“The veil has slipped for a second time when it comes to Aontú on jobs within our economy. It is not so long ago I was in this Chamber when Deputy Tóibín referred to people who were working for large employers as transitional jobs. Here today, the Deputy now referred to corporate tax profitability receipts as "bargain basement".”
“Going to the further important point the Deputy made, he made the point regarding whether we can put in place staff to assist these therapists and their healthcare professionals in doing their work. That is being done at the moment. We have a budget of €500,000 in place to allow the hiring of a further 20 health and social care professional assistants or therapy assistants to help with this work being done. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue today.”
“I thank the Deputy again for raising the issue. I can make the case to him that the vacancy rate within these healthcare professions has decreased. It has decreased from 29% in 2023 to 21% in 2024, and that is an improvement, but we have so much further to go because we know the level of human need that is there. We know we need to be helping families and the children they love so much in a better way than is happening at the moment. I can make the case for how much more money we are spending. I can make the case that my colleagues are giving this all the priority they can. I could point to how many more healthcare professionals we have there. We need to continue with this and we will.”
“We know we need more therapists and healthcare professionals but we have seen, for example, 272 more healthcare professionals in this area now, and an overall increase in the numbers working in that broad area. It is the reason we are putting more therapists into our schools, and it is the reason we are looking at what measures we can put in our schools early in the educational journey to make sure this support is provided at a time it is most urgently needed.”
“The Taoiseach has decided to chair a Cabinet group to look at how we can do that. Second, we are looking at what we can do from a supply perspective to ensure that we have those in our universities and places of higher learning who, in turn, can become the very therapists that we need. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and in fact all of the Ministers here, are working on this issue. What we are seeing in so many parts of the world is a demand for these therapists and healthcare professionals, and it is why the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, the now Tánaiste and my colleagues here have looked at what we can do in our universities to ensure the supply of these professionals is progressing. That is under way. Finally, and most importantly from a recruitment perspective, we are making efforts in this area.”
“I also appreciate the Deputy's honesty in acknowledging that despite the importance of this issue - and it is one we are doing our best to make a difference to - it is going to take time when time is short for those young girls and boys who need the help we want to give them. To directly answer the Deputy's question around what the Government is doing on this, we are doing three particular things. First, at a political level, it is the reason the Taoiseach is chairing a Cabinet subcommittee on the issue of disability. All of us meet those families, children and their parents, and we see at first hand what that means to their journey in life. We want to better co-ordinate the resources that the State is making available, and through our budgets build on the progress we have made recently from a funding and recruitment perspective.”
“I thank the Deputy. As he began his contribution, I will begin mine by acknowledging the huge anxiety and distress that families can face when young girls and boys with additional needs need additional support and have various conditions that we want to make a difference to. We see what that does to them for their start in life, and what it does to their families, their mams and dads, who are trying to get the support they want to give to their son and daughter when they know they need it. I also recognise, as the Deputy has done, those voluntary organisations and service providers outside of the State that play a very valuable role in supporting the State and those families who need the help we all want to see them get.”
“What I have done is outline the work that has already happened with regard to this, which I know the Deputy is aware of. We have put in place different options to try to resolve the issue but I know they are not leading to the outcome that I want. If I was in a position to outline a detailed solution to this today, that detailed solution would now be implemented, and what we will do is continue to work on this issue and do our best to find a solution to it.”
“Deputy Sherlock knows we are treating this issue with urgency. She knows that. She knows the Minister is and she has acknowledged that to me. She knows we are working on it. The Deputy does the issue a disservice by suggesting otherwise. I ask her to please acknowledge, as I have done, that if this was an issue that was simple and that could easily be dealt with, we would already have done so. We have acknowledged that this is a complex issue. Unfortunately, that complexity means that a group of deeply committed healthcare professionals, who have decided to provide services in communities that the Deputy and I are lucky enough to represent, are now facing the vista of them not being able to continue that work, and what is suffering or could suffer from that is the health of those we are doing our best to stand by.”
“If goodwill alone could have solved this issue it would have happened and Deputy Sherlock knows this is the case. She knows work has happened on it. I and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will prioritise this issue. We will look at the options that are there. Certainly from a tax perspective I will engage on this issue and see whether steps can be put in place. I look at the progress we have made in opening a primary care centre in Summerhill, what it means for those on Sean O'Casey Avenue and in the surrounding communities and the difference it is making from a health perspective. I look at the great work these GPs are doing and Deputy Sherlock is raising this issue on their behalf. I know the impact and the role they play in supporting the health of their patients.”
“The very heart of this issue, as Deputy Sherlock well knows, is the relationship that is in place from a contractual perspective between GPs and the HSE, which goes back to legislation from 1970, and the tax consequences of this which mean that, as a matter of law, income under a GMS contract belongs to the GP who entered into the contract with the HSE. This assessment was confirmed by the Tax Appeals Commission's determination in January 2022. This is the background to the issue. There are officials and politicians of goodwill who have worked to try to find a way of resolving this. I, as the Minister for Finance, in conjunction with my colleague the Minister for Health will continue to do what we can to try to make progress on this issue.”
“I know she is aware of changes that have already been made to tax legislation to try to deal with this issue. Unfortunately, changes that were made by my predecessor, Deputy Chambers, to deal with an issue that had been raised have not made the progress we had hoped. I hope and know Deputy Sherlock is aware of how much work has gone on in the Department of Health and the Ministry of Finance to try to identify options for dealing with this issue, which so far have not yet had the success we would want.”
“I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising an issue with which I am familiar. In particular I recognise the work that GP Care For All has done, and the person at the heart of it, Amanda Farrelly. I was hoping to meet them myself tomorrow but another Government commitment has got in the way. I am well aware of the importance of the work they do and the value of the service. While I very much welcome and acknowledge Deputy Sherlock's right to raise this here, making points such as that the Department of Finance is at the heart of this mess does a disservice to the complexity of the issue. I hope a bipartisan approach to try to correct it can play a role. I know Deputy Sherlock is aware the HSE wants to recruit GPs who can work directly for the public service.”
“It is interesting Deputy Cullinane should bring up the election because he is representing the most unsuccessful opposition party in Europe at present. It is the only opposition party that managed to go into an election at a time prices were high and lose votes.”
“However, as the Minister, Deputy Chambers said only today, as we approach the budget and respond to the challenges that are there, we will look at what measures we can put in place that will be targeted and can offer support to those who need it the most. We want to be clear in recognising the great challenge and worry that exists within our country at the moment but, equally, we want to be honest and say that we cannot and will not do anything that adds to the risks that we may face but at the same time, we want to identify how we can and will help.”
“Second, the Government must look at what it can do in a way that can help, which is why the Minister, Deputy Chambers was right. The Minister and I, and the Government, are very clear on what we can do and what we want to do in this regard. I cannot stand here in front of the House today and say that the level of payments that we have made available over the last number of years can become the norm. Those payments were made available at a time in which inflation was at 5%, 10% and 15%. They were made available across a world that is very different from today. That level of payment is something that, if we begin to normalise it and say it will be available year after year, of itself runs the risk of creating difficulties for our country and economy in the years ahead.”
“In addition to what we can do to prevent and mitigate these kinds of cost increases, which will be difficult, we also want to look at the regulatory model that we have here in Ireland. That is why the Government has laid out its commitment to assessing the role of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, within our country in terms of the role of affordability and competitiveness within its mandate. As we face into these kinds of challenges, they will be made no easier and no less difficult for so many by adding an air of dishonesty or cynicism regarding what any Government or politician can do. It is precisely because we are in difficult and volatile times that the Government needs to do two things. First, we must recognise what that means for those we are privileged to serve, and we do.”
“This, of course, is most manifest in the cost of living and the impact that increased bills is having on very many at the moment. In terms of what the Government is currently doing in relation to this, we have to look at what we can do to prevent the impact of the cost of living on households and businesses and at the support we can make available in the future. What we are already doing, for example, includes the measures that we have put in place in relation to the retrofitting of homes. A sum of €230 million was invested in this scheme last year, helping over 7,000 homes. In the past two years we have seen 129,000 energy upgrades to homes across our country. This year's budget alone has €280 million set aside for the warmer homes scheme, which is an eleven-fold increase in funding in comparison with where we were a number of years ago.”
“The Government and all of my colleagues on this side of the House absolutely understand the consequences of the uncertainty of the world that we are now in and what that means for households and businesses. We see a world that has become more dangerous, more volatile and full of uncertainty. We on this side of the House are absolutely aware of the concern and anxiety that is causing for many in our country, whether that be small businesses trying to keep jobs or householders worried about whether they will be able to pay their bills and keep their homes in the future. I see that in the eyes of my constituents. All of us see that in the engagements that we have with those we serve across the length and breadth of our country.”
“-----we have seen it at that figure. This is the reason Revenue instigated the compliance intervention that it did. I have made changes. I did so by means of tax legislation in order to ensure that issues that were being raised with me by Revenue were acted upon, and that happened. As soon as further information becomes available for the sector, it will of course be shared with the Deputy and made public.”
“Tá brón orm. I was only reading out a base figure in the interests of time. Let me be non-selective and read out all the figures for each year since 2017. Those figures are: €8.3 million, €28.2 million, €72 million, €73.8 million, €43.1 million, €37.6 million and €31.8 million, respectively. In recent years-----”
“We do need to deal firmly with tax compliance issues, as has been done, and we need to find ways by which more homes can be built.”
“The review was a compliance review undertaken by Revenue and therefore it would not publish a document in relation to that, respecting taxpayer confidentiality. However, it has indicated, as I shared with the Deputy, the tax payments that were made by that sector to the Exchequer over recent years. For 2023, that figure stands at €31.8 million. In 2017, that figure was €8.3 million. Therefore, there has been an increase in the tax paid. We need a broader consideration of how we are going to deal with the housing needs that are so clearly there. I believe the Deputy acknowledges that in order to meet the housing needs which are only growing, the private sector must play a role. Part of how the private sector will do that is by allowing the savings and pensions in other parts of the world to be invested in providing homes here in Ireland.”
“Revenue also advise that some IREFs reported that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the value of investment property, meaning they recorded losses in accounting periods ended in 2020. I welcomed a recommendation of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare 2022 to undertake a review of the IREF regime. On 22 October 2024, my predecessor as Minister, Deputy Chambers, published the funds sector report “A Framework for Open, Resilient & Developing Markets”. On IREFs, the funds review team recommended consideration of a public consultation to set out potential options for an entity-level tax for IREFs. Officials in my Department are reviewing this recommendation, as part of a wider consideration of the funds review report which I, in turn, will consider in due course.”
“The Deputy might clarify when he responds the source of the figure of €8 billion, please, so that we are clear on the particular point he is making. I am advised by Revenue that in 2022 it commenced a compliance-based review of the Irish real estate fund, IREF, sector with one of its aims being to identify the reasons for the reduction in the amount of IREF withholding tax paid in 2021 relative to 2020, in each case arising from prior year taxable events. This gross payment data is published as part of Revenue’s annual corporation tax payments and returns publication. I am further advised by Revenue that a large factor in the apparent reduction in tax collected in 2021 over tax collected in 2020 was the length of time it took for refund claims in respect of prior years to be received.”
“I thank the Deputy. I am well aware of the kinds of issues he has raised. I am sure his constituents raise them with him. Times of inheritance are obviously difficult moments for families. Tax bills at times of sadness can be considerable. As I said in my earlier answer, any change to this form of taxation brings a particular, and perhaps significant, cost. That must be considered as part of our normal budgetary process. I certainly take on board what the Deputy has said. It is a matter that has been raised with me and other Ministers for Finance over the years. There are good reasons that decisions on the issue have not been made in the way in which the Deputy is advocating. In the time ahead, we will consider the issue again. I thank the Deputy for raising it.”
“The group C threshold is currently €20,000 and applies in all other cases. Gifts and inheritances between spouses and civil partners are exempt from CAT. Where a person receives gifts or inheritances that are in excess of the relevant tax-free threshold, capital acquisition tax at a rate of 33% applies on the excess benefit. There are a number of exemptions and reliefs from this tax that may apply depending on the circumstances of the case, many of which do not require that any specific family relationship applies. The Deputy will be aware that there would be a significant cost in making substantial changes to the CAT thresholds and those who can access them. Therefore, any consideration of this type must be balanced against competing demands and as part of the annual budget and finance Bill cycle.”
“The Deputy should note at the outset that 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. The relationship between the person giving a gift or inheritance, the disponer, and the person who receives it, the beneficiary, determines the maximum amount, known as the "group threshold", below which CAT does not arise. The group A threshold is currently €400,000 and applies where the beneficiary is a child, including adopted child, stepchild and certain foster children of the disponer. The group B threshold is currently €40,000 and applies where the beneficiary is a brother, sister, nephew, niece or lineal ancestor or lineal descendant, such as a grandchild, of the disponer.”
“-----in funding the kinds of activities and the approach that this Government has been clear in condemning. I have said to the House that I am aware of all of the legal debate that has taken place about the Sinn Féin Bill and the issues that have been raised. I am, of course, going to consider the issue further.”
“It is important to acknowledge that the overall size of the Israeli economy is €500 billion. That is how big that economy is. ISIF is enormous, and many different investments are taking place across the world. We have already seen ISIF divest from companies within Israel. As I said in response to the House earlier, it is not clear to me, given the scale of the investment that ISIF has, both directly and indirectly, that it is in any way playing a role-----”
“I will consider the content of that advice in the coming weeks, particularly the legal assessment about the impact of the decision of the International Court of Justice on these kinds of matters.”
“I disagree strongly with the Deputy's overall analysis regarding the Government's stance on the people of Palestine. From the decision we made regarding the recognition of the Palestinian state, one supported by the entire Dáil, to the ongoing funding we have provided through multilateral and international organisations to support those people, who have seen such harm and loss of life in recent months, our stance is very clear and is understood and valued by those who represent the people of Palestine at a political level. Regarding the Deputy's point about divestment, if I look at the value of the shares held directly and indirectly by ISIF, it is not clear that they play any role in supporting the occupation of Palestinian territories. The Deputy referred to the fact that there has been much legal analysis and debate about this.”
“Under the amendment Act, the agency has responsibility for determining, monitoring and keeping under review an investment strategy for the fund in accordance with the investment policy for the fund. On the issue of amending the fund, ISIF has a policy of limited disinvestment. For example, the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018 provides for the divestment by ISIF from certain fossil fuel undertakings. This builds on ISIF’s existing investment exclusionary strategy in respect of cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines, coal production and processing and tobacco manufacturing.”
“It is not certain that these investments, therefore, in themselves represent a significant contributory factor in maintaining Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories. The issue of whether investments by ISIF in particular companies which, as part of their business model, have some activity in the occupied Palestinian territories runs contrary to the rulings of the International Court of Justice would need further consideration. I understand that discussion is ongoing at EU level on a legal analysis of the advisory opinion from the court. The National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014 sets out ISIF’s mandate with regard to the investment of the fund.”
“ISIF continues to monitor its holdings to ensure that investments are within ISIF’s risk profile and investment parameters. Given commercial sensitivities, ISIF does not comment on individual investment decisions. ISIF publishes information on the overall return of its global portfolio as part of the National Treasury Management Agency's, NTMA, annual report but does not publish a breakdown of returns by each individual investment. The amount of investment by ISIF in the companies on the UN list is small compared with the market capitalisation of many of these companies. It is also small - if not very small - relative to the size of the Irish economy. It is not clear as to the level of income such companies derive from activities in the occupied territories.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 14 together. As Deputies are aware, the UN maintains a database of businesses involved in certain specified activities relating to settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, OPT. At the end of 2023, direct investments by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, in companies on the UN database was approximately €4.2 million in 11 companies. ISIF’s indirect investments included eight companies, totalling approximately €9.4 million. ISIF divested from six of these companies with a total value of approximately €2.95 million in 2024. The six companies were Bank Hapoalim BM, Bank Leumi-le Israel BM, Israel Discount Bank Limited, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Limited, First International Bank Limited and Rami Levi Chain Stores Limited.”