Simon Harris
Wicklow · Fine Gael · Ireland
“There are more than 10,000 routes and thousands of buses involved and the number of students using the services is not a million miles away from 200,000. The current terms of the scheme are going to continue to apply for the 2026-27 school year.”
“I thank Deputy McDonald for raising what is genuinely an important issue. I do take the point that when we talk about this in the abstract or from a process point of view in here, that for people watching this is their real lived experience.”
“There number of children who have been supported by means of the school transport scheme, as Deputy Fitzmaurice knows and has alluded to, has grown significantly in recent years. Since 2018, the number increased from 120,000 in 2018 to more than 181,000 now. Included in that figure are 24,000 pupils with special educational needs.”
“I knew the Deputy would have to mention the GAA, especially with Galway and Limerick playing at the weekend. I wish everybody involved the best of luck. We are very committed to the school transport scheme. If the Deputy wants to see our commitment, he should look to our budget.”
“An ageing population, increasing healthcare needs, the transition to net zero and the need for continued investment in housing, energy and infrastructure will place a significant demand on public resources.”
“There is also a legitimacy to the point the Deputy made about how it is a legitimate form of transport for some people. We see this working in other European countries. We see it in our nearest neighbours. I do not want to get the regime wrong, but I think they have registration at the point of purchase that allows people to track this.”
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“I take the point on the issue of public transport. People will flock to an area like Howth. I know the Minister for Transport is working with the National Transport Authority, with Iarnród Éireann and with the Deputy to increase DART capacity and reliability. We want people to have confidence that they can choose public transport and not have to queue for a significant length of time. I join the Deputy in remembering the young girl who tragically lost her life at Burrow Beach. Any such loss is absolutely heartbreaking. Everybody in this House extends their thoughts to that family and community. There is more we can be doing in terms of amenities and the point the Deputy made around that.”
“Dublin Bay is one of our greatest natural amenities. I welcome the ongoing work by the Dublin Bay task force, chaired by Dublin City Council, aimed at improving the bathing water quality further. The Department of housing, along with Uisce Éireann and the local authorities, are now funding UCD's Acclimatize 2 project to carry out a study identifying and targeting pollution pressures as well. The Dublin Bay bathing water task force - that is quite a mouthful - will work closely with the research team in UCD as well. I recognise the point the Deputy made that people are swimming outside the summer season. The bathing water quality amendment regulations were published to allow local authorities to define the bathing season in their own area, which was meant to be an important step forward as well.”
“I thank Deputy for the work he is doing and for highlighting this. I welcome the people with us today and their heroic actions. I thank the Deputy for highlighting that too. I take seriously the point the Deputy made about lifeguards. I live on the coast as well, in Wicklow. In all weather, but particularly in this weather, people tend to flock to the beaches and flock to our seas. There is a legitimate issue around lifeguard numbers and the likes. I will certainly talk with Government colleagues in relation to that and I am happy to engage with the Deputy on it. Dublin Bay is a beautiful place. I was at Raheny United last week. I met some young people in a coffee shop who said they were all friends with Deputy Barry Heneghan. I said "I know him." It was good to be out in the constituency with my colleague, Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí.”
“I would say respectfully that all of them need to start showing creativity with regard to the type of housing they are delivering, including homes for people with disabilities and homes for older people. Social housing is used as a kind of umbrella term. We need to start looking at the types of social housing that are required and that mixed tenure. I would be happy to meet Cork City Council about that at any time.”
“I largely agree with the Deputy's analysis. We are still seeing the scars of that financial crash, where people who lost their home at a certain age are now ageing. We have to be prepared. That is one of reasons we are doing a specific body of work led by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, which will come to Government shortly. Alongside the reasons the Deputy pointed out, we are also seeing a significant increase in life expectancy, which is largely a good thing for society, but also a change in our demographics. We are expecting that the population aged over 85 will increase by over 140% in Ireland by 2040. There is very significant demographic churn. We are still one of the youngest populations in Europe but we are ageing fast. We are very committed to acting on this. We allocate a lot of money to local authorities.”
“We need our local authorities to enhance delivery through improved site identification, working closer with the approved housing bodies too. We need to and will recognise in the plan the increasing number of older people renting in the private rented sector and examine those affordability challenges for older people approaching retirement in the sector and how we, as a Government, need to help to address those challenges. We will be back as soon as possible this year, with our housing plan for older people. We will encompass these issues in that.”
“A city like Cork could really help to lead the way here by becoming a local authority that decides to set targets. There is nothing to stop any local authority from doing this today but we will be mandating it as part of our plan for every local authority to set targets for the number of older people's homes they will deliver each year. Any of us who have been involved in public life have seen what used to happen in the past, where small clusters or estates of homes used to be developed for older people and-or people with a disability. I am not being critical of anyone but that stopped for a while and we need to really revamp and rebuild that. We need better data collection processes regarding older people.”
“Rightsizing is an important issue and the Department of Finance, with the Central Bank, has put in place a change to the bridging finance rules regarding access to mortgages, which is important for older people who need to rightsize for their own quality of life and health, and want to live in their own community. Not being prohibited by rigid mortgage rules is a positive development. It is why some of the tenancy protections are important, being able to provide six-year tenancies for people rather the uncertainty we have had in our country before. That is why we also need to work specifically with older people on social housing targets for every local authority, and in the new plan, we will be. I do not say this to be critical of Cork. In fact, it is a positive.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is committed to this agenda and working extraordinarily hard on this. Compared with the previous one, the last census showed the scale of the challenge here. The Deputy is right to highlight that the number of people over the age of 65 renting had increased by a very significant amount. There is a real policy issue here, which I do not doubt. That is why this year we will be producing a specific housing plan for older people. I will give the Deputy a flavour of some of the issues that we believe need to be addressed.”
“I join Deputy O'Flynn in extending my sympathy to the friends, family and fellow sisters of Sr. Colette Hickey. What an incredible age and, indeed, an incredible life of service and impact on people, particularly in Cork. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis. I thank the Deputy for extending his sympathy to her in the House. I thank Deputy O'Flynn for raising this issue. I do not dispute that it is serious. One reason we decided that for the very first time the Minister of State with responsibility for older people should be based in both the Department of Health and the Department of housing is the recognition that we cannot just have conversations about older people from a policy perspective in the Department of Health. We also need to have conversations about health and well-being in the context of housing.”
“We will be going through the budget and looking at that. The summer economic statement will be the next chance we will have to take stock next month.”
“It is a permanent reduction in costs and taxes on employment that specifically impacts regional and rural Ireland, small businesses and microenterprises. The Deputy knows well what we are thinking of doing in the next budget. We will have the summer economic statement next month, which will outline the amount we will have for additional spending and will allocate the amount we will have for a tax package. There will also be a personal income tax package. I believe we need to look at the budget in the round. Tax can do some things, which it should. There are too many people paying the higher rate of tax at too low an entry point, but there are other things we can do on the spending side to structurally reduce costs families face, including workers. The Deputy referenced childcare, which would be an obvious area too.”
“I said to the Deputy earlier, and I am happy to say it again, that I do not doubt his bona fides or that of his party in wanting to support small businesses. I do not doubt that at all. We just have a different policy approach to this. I also made this point, and I will make it again, that we had an election. In that election, I stood in coffee shops, restaurants, pubs that served food and hotels, and I said to people that if they voted my party back into Government, and the Fianna Fáil party did the equivalent, we would reduce their VAT rate. It was a promise we made to people right across this country and is a promise we are delivering on - promise made, promise kept, promise delivered.”
“This is an initiative that will disproportionately benefit rural and regional Ireland, small businesses and microenterprises. It is the right decision. I look forward to standing with coffee shop owners, café owners, hairdressers and restaurateurs to say we took this decision to support jobs.”
“-----with €48 million being the cost for hairdressers - the beard trimming. This will benefit. There are over 150,000 people working in the hospitality sector and, I will be very honest, this is not about reducing the cost of a cup of coffee. I am not going to lie to anybody here; it is not about that at all. This is about supporting employment. It is about saying to the coffee shop owner, restaurant owner and pub that might do a lunch in rural Ireland that we are helping them by reducing their tax bill because they are helping us in providing employment. The Deputy mentioned the old beef barons or burger barons or whatever you call them. CSO data shows that 99% of those working in food catering and accommodation are SMEs, and half of those are microenterprises that have less than ten employees.”
“This Government has taken several actions to help people. However, the decision to reduce VAT in the hospitality sector is a very important one, and do not forget the hairdressers-----”
“There will be thousands of carers receiving the reduced rate of the carer's allowance who might now qualify for the larger rate, and there will be some who do not currently get carer's allowance who will qualify for the first time ever. That is happening next week. As the Deputy knows, we also introduced the largest ever increases in child support payments, with over 330,000 children benefiting from these increases. The national minimum wage has increased since 2020 by 40%, from €10.10 per day to today's rate of €14.15. We have also reduced people's VAT to 9% on gas and electricity bills. We have reduced college fees and brought in free hot school meals, free schoolbooks, free GP care for under-eights, and we have extended the back-to-school footwear and clothing allowance to preschool for the first time ever.”
“It helped everyone going to work who needs to put petrol or diesel in their car but it also, and I have made this point before, reduced inflation by 0.6% per month on what it would have been. The cost of food would have been 0.6% higher, from an inflationary point of view, in Dunnes, Tesco, SuperValu and shops in Louth, were it not for the package the Government put in place. That cannot be overlooked. That is not my view; it is the view of the chief economist and the economic analysis of the package we put in place. We increased the fuel allowance and, next week, something else is happening that is not just VAT being reduced. The carer's allowance is being expanded.”
“Deputy Nash really does not like burgers, but we will get to that in a second. This Government has taken a number of actions in endeavouring to assist people. We should remind ourselves that in the country we live in, there are over 2.8 million people who got up and went to work this morning - the highest number ever. Figures from the CSO show the average weekly wage is now over €1,000. Yes, we are living in a time of huge global uncertainty but, thank God, we have resources as a country to intervene. The Deputy asked what the Government did to assist people with fuel and the likes. We delivered the largest or second largest package in the entire European Union for direct assistance. This did not just help specific sectors, although it helped them too. It helped hauliers, farmers, farm contractors and people working in road transport.”
“Vincent's hospital, weekend consultant cover in Wexford General Hospital, a minimum of 26 consultants now rostered at weekends in University Hospital Waterford, and the progress in Kerry, St. James's and Mullingar hospitals. We are seeing the benefits. This is a reform agenda. It is one the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is going to drive and it will make a big difference. We want to work in support with everybody across this House to get to where we need to.”
“We have had the HSE audit from the last year. We have had the Minister putting in her own regional structure, engaging on a three-monthly basis in terms of each region over and over again, and the progress we are making as well. The Minister has also asked everyone in this House for their support. She is working in partnership with the committee, which is a formidable combination and that needs to continue. I and the Taoiseach fully support these efforts, as does all of Government, and we look forward to meeting with the regional clinical directors too. On a positive note, we have seen benefits with the public-only consultant contract already, whether that is the cardiology clinics on a Saturday and Sunday in Connolly Hospital, a Saturday hub in St.”
“I fully agree with the Deputy. Let me be clear that the HSE has confirmed that any additional payments to consultants on that public-only consultant contract, POCC, contract relating to the service level agreement ceased at the start of the year. There are some consultants who do not work on a public-only consultant contract. It is important in winding down a long-standing arrangement and an agreement that that is done in a safe manner and that is the intention. However, it is ending because we are pursuing Sláintecare. We are pursuing the public-only consultant contract. We are creating a public health service. The Minister for Health does not have responsibility for private health. She has a responsibility for delivering a world-class public health service. That is what we all want to do. There is a number of activities under way.”
“The lab has been recently experiencing periods where demand exceeded available staffing resources and this resulted in a backlog of samples. The HSE has confirmed that urgent referrals will always be priorities. Samples are processed according to clinical priority but it has also advised now that the long-standing service level agreement that is in place with the local private hospital, the Bon Secours, to provide lab service is due to terminate this year. I think it may be due to terminate in September but it is certainly due to terminate this year. That is also an outworking of the reform agenda that the health service is currently undergoing.”
“Shortly the Cabinet Committee on Health is meeting with the clinical directors in each of the regions - the top doctors who are paid additional salaries to make sure this happens. The Taoiseach, the Minister and I will want to hear directly what is happening. There are also a number of regional meetings taking place across the country. We are not for turning on this. The Minister made that clear. We are extraordinarily serious about this and health policy set in this building and in Miesian Plaza on Baggot Street, not set anywhere else. I hope everybody now working in the health service understands that fully. In relation to the specific issue in University Hospital Galway, the Deputy is right that there is an issue here. The issue here is there is a histology laboratory in Galway. It processes on average 13,200 samples per month.”
“I genuinely welcome, as does the Minister, the work being done at the Oireachtas health committee. It is helpful. It was very helpful in relation to the Rotunda. I believe, possibly next week, the committee may be due to see the Rotunda again and the HSE. That is a helpful opportunity for people who work for the public to outline the process that they are undertaking. The Deputy used the word "violating". I can understand why but I would make the point that we are seeing the reform agenda being implemented here. What we are seeing now is getting to the phase of full implementation of the contract. I accept that the Government would have liked to gave seen us at this point earlier. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has prioritised this since taking office.”
“The public-only contract holders are not permitted to engage in private practice within public hospitals. This position is unequivocal. There are to be no exemptions, no arrangements or no deviations. We would not accept it from anybody else working in the public service. If you sign a contract and you take the extra salary, you fulfil the terms of your contract. It is as simple as that. If you do not wish to sign the contract, that is also fine but you cannot have this each-way bet, as if to say, "I will sign the contract, take the extra salary, and make me pure but not just yet." That is very simple. It is the Government policy. The Minister intends to implement it in full. It is, largely speaking, the policy of the Oireachtas across parties because, of course, it originated from the work of Sláintecare.”
“I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for the question. I acknowledge this is an issue he has been rightly pursuing in this House for a period of time. The Deputy commended his colleague, Deputy Rice, the Cathaoirleach of the Oireachtas health committee. Deputy O'Callaghan will understand and appreciate I want to commend my colleague, the Minister for Health, because while I agree sometimes with Deputy O'Callaghan's analysis in terms of the destination we want to get to, it would be unfair to say that we have not seen an extraordinarily proactive approach from the Government since the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, took office. The Minister has shown very clearly to anybody down the back who did not hear that when you sign on the dotted line we expect you to do what you signed up to do.”
“This is a question of getting to the answers in terms of CHI, the legitimate and important issues that people have highlighted so that the Minister is then empowered to take the appropriate decisions that she wishes to take to deliver a world-class children's health service, with a new national children's hospital, with all the additional resources going into children's health and with the reforms that she is leading on and the benefits we are seeing now around those additional resources, such as the Saturday outpatient clinics and the likes. We want everybody to engage here in good faith with Mr. Farrell SC. We want to make progress on this.”
“To be clear, the Government is fulfilling its commitment to this House and the decision that it took to appoint Mr. Remy Farrell SC to carry out a scoping inquiry. There are a number of advocacy groups. There may be eight advocacy groups in this space in relation to children's paediatric spinal care and many are engaging with Mr. Farrell SC. I would encourage genuinely everybody to engage without prejudice to provide information, ask questions and raise concerns that they would like Mr. Farrell SC, as an independent external senior legal figure, to consider and to report back to Government. That is a good way to proceed. We also extended the terms of reference to include the hip dysplasia group. This is not a question of Government.”
“The Government will also want to balance that with making sure that everyone has the opportunity to have their say and engage with him. I encourage everyone to engage. I say that respectfully. We have appointed an eminent and serious senior legal figure, without prejudice, in order for people to engage in that process and have their views heard. That will play an important role in shaping the terms of reference and the next step. We all want the same thing, Deputy. We all want a situation where we have an inquiry that can examine the issues that have arisen and, as the Deputy said, ensure they do not arise again. We all seek to build a health service that can serve the needs of all of our children. We have that structure in place. The Government is committed to it. Mr. Remy Farrell SC is very committed to doing a good job.”
“We agree fully with the Deputy that, often, issues in the health service can be added to or amplified by poor communications and families not feeling that they are at the centre of the information flow. That is why I welcome the Minister’s decision to ask CHI to put in place a patient co-ordinator. So much can be improved when there are good, open and transparent lines of communication. I think the Deputy referenced that in her question. The Minister and I have had sustained engagement with advocate groups. The Government agreed to establish a scoping inquiry. It is important for that work to be carried out. The eminent Mr. Remy Farrell SC has been appointed to do that work. He has been engaging with families, advocacy groups and consultants. I know he wishes to conclude that work shortly.”
“That is why the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has correctly taken the decision on the direction of travel in terms of replacing and subsuming CHI into the HSE. That is good from a governance point of view. It is an important step to take. The Minister has the full support of all in the Government in that regard. That is an important factor with regard to the issue of trust the Deputy raised. I accept that as well. We have also seen recently the work the Minister and the former CEO of the HSE commissioned, whereby audits are to be carried out on waiting lists and concerns in this regard. We saw that published very recently. One of the things that is most striking when reading those audits is the poor communication time and time again.”
“When it comes to outpatients, we see now that the average wait time has fallen to 4.4 months, compared with 7.7 months in May one year previous. A total of 99.2% of patients are now waiting less than 12 months for their outpatient appointment. When we look at inpatients, 200 inpatient procedures have been completed so far this year and the average wait time has fallen from 5.3 months in May 2025 to 4.6 months in May of this year. The Deputy is entirely correct, however. The Minister and I, as well as everyone in the Government, knows there is a lot more that we want and need to do in this area. There has been a number of concerning revelations over a sustained period of time in relation to CHI.”
“I thank Deputy Clarke for raising this important issue. At the outset, everyone on all sides of this House recognises the significant challenges, stress and worry that families face when they have a sick child, and the very significant challenges families face in relation to paediatric spinal services. There has been and continues to be ongoing additional investment in this area. A total of €30 million has been allocated to help tackle spinal waiting lists, including a ring-fenced theatre, additional orthopaedic surgeons, improved GP referral pathways and additional outpatient clinics. Indeed, I saw that a total of 556 patients attended Saturday clinics since the beginning of 2025. Opening up access at weekends is an important reform.”
“I thank Deputy Murphy for his contribution. I have already outlined the Commission on Taxation and Welfare's 2022 report and the issues that it suggested would impede the implementation of such a tax, as well as the Parliamentary Budget Office report from 2024. I have also outlined how we have one of the most progressive taxation systems and social transfer systems in the EU and the OECD and the research work being carried out by the ESRI. I have no doubt that this is an issue Deputy Murphy will return to again when we have a longer time to discuss it and engage.”
“It is important to note that Ireland has one of the most progressive taxation systems and social transfers of any EU or OECD country, which contributes to the redistribution of income and the reduction of income inequality. In 2016, my Department worked with the ESRI to conduct a research project into the distribution of wealth in Ireland and the potential implications of a wealth tax. Recognising the passage of time that has elapsed since this research project was undertaken, the ESRI is currently conducting analysis under its joint research programme. This will include scenario and distributional analysis under a range of wealth tax scenarios. A draft paper will be completed before the end of the year and I will consider the analysis in due course. I do not plan on introducing a wealth tax in budget 2027.”
“Its conclusion was that a new tax on net wealth should not be introduced without first attempting to substantially amend Ireland’s existing taxes on capital and wealth. The commission argued that, as an alternative to introducing a new tax on wealth, CGT and CAT could be re-examined. These are existing taxes on wealth that have well-established but distinct bases and are well understood in their operation. A 2024 report by the Parliamentary Budget Office entitled “An Overview of Taxes on Wealth in Ireland" noted, among other things, that a specific wealth tax risks an increased concentration of overall tax receipts on a relatively small proportion of taxpayers. It proposed base-broadening measures to increase the number of taxpayers and to diversify revenue sources.”
“I thank the Deputy. As he will be aware, wealth is already taxed in a number of ways in Ireland. These include capital gains tax, CGT, capital acquisitions tax, CAT and local property tax. Stamp duty also acts as a tax on wealth, including that charged on the acquisition of shares, stocks and marketable securities of Irish registered companies, and on the acquisition of property both residential and non-residential. The revenue raised from a wealth tax, regardless of the form it takes, may not be additional to that raised by the existing forms of wealth taxation, as the revenues from those taxes could be impacted by the introduction of a wealth tax. In looking at the question of wealth taxes, the Commission on Taxation and Welfare's 2022 report identified challenges that would impede the implementation of a wealth tax.”
“I do not say that in a judgmental way but sometimes the some of the low-income workers we want to help have to be helped in ways other than the income tax system too. I said this earlier, but I really believe it. While I firmly believe a personal income tax package can play a role in assisting people with the cost of living and we will have one, it will also need to be supplemented by what we can do on the spending side to reduce structural costs that families face in areas like childcare, an issue I know the Deputy is passionate about with the carers' allowance. We will see the carers' allowance income threshold increase next month as an example. We need to look at all of this in the round. I look forward to continued engagement in the time ahead.”
“I thank Deputy Callaghan for acknowledging that there will be a personal income tax package. The aim is that it will deliver in line with the programme for Government commitments around progressive changes. We will look at the various options in the round. We will decide them on 6 October and will have plenty of opportunities to engage directly and to engage through this structure in advance of that. The point the Deputy made about the minimum wage increases not being gobbled up for low-income workers by USC is important. That is a principle that we have had for the last number of years and is certainly one that I would hope we could continue. There is another issue and I will say this honestly. Around a third of people are not paying any income tax or USC.”
“In general, regarding the surplus, I am pleased to live in a country where we have an economic surplus. It comes with challenges, but it much better to have a challenge than a deficit. I am conscious that some of that surplus is based on a temporary windfall tax and, therefore, a more appropriate use of it is to put it into our investment funds to deliver infrastructure and deal with future demographics.”
“I have to give the annoying answer that we will consider all of these matters in the budget. I do not want to rule anything in or out today, other than to say a couple of things. The Deputy is right to acknowledge the burden that people feel from taxation. She is also right to acknowledge, very fairly, the benefit that we see from the taxes that people pay. The USC is expected to bring in €5.9 billion this year. It would be a very different challenge if we did not have that almost €6 billion. The next staging post as regards the total amount available for tax measures will be the summer economic statement in July. That will outline how much we intend to put aside for tax measures. We can then start to have an informed debate about the best way to spend that money and the best policy options.”
“The USC yield for last year was €5.6 billion. For this year, it is projected to be €5.9 billion, so there is a significant yield. What we decide to do on personal income tax, whether on income thresholds, tax credits or the USC, will be considered in the weeks ahead. The ultimate aim will be to see how we can most help people who are either working hard or the people who, as the Deputy recognised today, have worked hard with respect to their net income. We will consider all the options in the round.”
“In the previous Dáil, to give an example, we managed to get from a situation where people were paying the higher rate of tax at €33,000 and brought that up to the higher rate of tax being paid at €44,000. We also made some progress on the USC in the previous Dáil when we saw the middle rate of USC, of 4.5%, reduce by 1.5 percentage points to 3%. About a third of people are not paying any income tax or USC, which we need to factor in too. When people talk about progressivity, we need to balance that. The USC is an individualised tax, which means that a person's liability for the tax is determined on the basis of his or her individual income or personal circumstances. It is therefore seen by some as a more sustainable charge than those it replaced, and it is applied at a lower rate on a wide base.”
“As I know Deputy Callaghan is aware, the programme for Government and our party manifesto commit to making progressive changes regarding income tax. The aim here is to make sure that people can keep some more of their own money. People in this country still feel that when they work hard, play by all the rules and then look at the slip at the end of the week or month and see the take-home pay figure, they are left struggling to get by, let alone get ahead. We want to make progress on that over the course of the next four budgets. There was not a personal income tax package in the previous budget. There will be one in this budget. I expect and hope there will be one in each of the next four budgets. Over the course of those four budgets, we can make real progress.”
“How we divide up the tax package and what we can or cannot do to reform CAT this year will have to be decided and informed by discussions we have about the priorities. I am not ruling anything out today. I know people who have concerns about this will also understand that it is a matter for 6 October, when we unveil the budget, from a tax and spending point of view. I will continue to engage with Deputy Cahill.”
“Deputy Cahill certainly gives that very clear impression. I know this is a serious issue and I hear from colleagues on the Government and Opposition benches about it. I share some of that concern too. In the specific role that I hold, I have to be honest about balancing the competing demands. We will have a certain amount available for tax measures and we will have many things that different people want to do. Inheritance tax is one that is coming up. Personal income tax is also coming up. We will have to look at all of this in the round. The Deputy and I have both been in government in the past, so we have made progress on this issue, including in the previous Dáil. This Government has four more budgets to deliver, so the next budget will be one of four.”
“There were significant increases in thresholds under the previous Government. I hope that we can make some progress on this over the course of this Government. Whether it is in this budget or other budgets is a matter for the Government to consider in the time ahead.”
“I appreciate this is a serious issue which causes stress, strain and worry to many people. I have had much engagement with colleagues and groups about this and continue to do that. We keep all these issues under review as part of the finance Bill each year. The tax strategy group will again look at these issues this year. We will publish data, information and costings that can help to inform the debate in these Houses. The only thing I have to say, to be honest with people, is that some of these moves are quite expensive. We will have to decide as a collective, whatever the size of the total tax package in this budget is, which we will publish in the summer economic statement, how we divide that, with all of the competing demands regarding tax. I am aware of the burden that this places on people.”
“Department of Finance officials produced a tax strategy group paper last year which examined that as well. We will do this again as part of our tax strategy group papers this year, and publish information and costings. I recognise the burden of this tax. I have had some good meetings with groups which are concerned about this. The Deputy should note that capital acquisitions tax group thresholds are kept under review annually through the finance Bill and annual budget.”