I express my thanks and those of my colleague, Fintan, to Mr. Martin Groves and all of the staff of the Seanad. We all have our political lives to lead and none of us knows whether we will be here for long. It has been an enjoyable eight and a half years for me in the House. I wish everyone well personally. Let us put our elections, whether we succeed or fail, into perspective. There is life above and beyond those. On this last day, I wish to reflect for a moment or two on the privilege I had of working in the Parl…

Well said.

The Minister is welcome. I have a couple of queries for him on which I would appreciate a response. I have a concern about the fact that some people employed on this site are not paid a living wage. I am talking about our cleaners. This issue has been raised a number of times. A member of the Minister's party, whom I respect, said to me approximately three years ago that this was all going to be sorted. The fact is some of the hardest working people on this site are our cleaners and they do not get paid a living wa…

I wish to begin by proposing an amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 9 be taken before No. 1." This refers to the Public Procurement (Collective Bargaining and Collective Agreements Criteria) Bill 2024. It is clearly going to be a very busy day next Tuesday in the Seanad. This Bill relates to the EU minimum wage directive, which should have been transposed into law by this Government but it has failed to do so. The directive itself deals with the issue of collective bargaining coverage. It sets a target of…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to give further effect to Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 and for that purpose to provide for contract award criteria in public contracts that promotes favourable weighting of economic operators who enter into collective bargaining and complete collective agreements with their employees, and to provide for related matters.

Next Tuesday.

Are we sure?

The Minister is very welcome. I will go through a few points first. In Sinn Féin's view, the Bill before the House confirms the unfairness at the heart of the budget. This is the Government's final budget, and it is on course to deliver the same two-tier income tax package we have come to expect. The cost-of-living crisis is not over. Yet, this Government, through its unfair income tax package, has again chosen to short-change anyone earning the average wage or below and workers who have been hardest hit by the cos…

I am simply making the point that everything we have since heard so far during this debate confirms that my prediction is very likely to come true. I will leave it at that.

I move recommendation No. 1: In page 10, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following: “Report on Universal Social Charge 3. The Minister shall, within 3 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on removing the Universal Social Charge from the first €45,000 a person earns.”. I will move through these as quickly as I can because many of them are common sense and self-explanatory. This amendment calls for a report on the universal social charge, specifically that the Ministe…

I move recommendation No. 2: In page 12, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “Report on Rent Tax Credit 6. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the Rent Tax Credit operating in the absence of a cap on rents, making a direct comparison between the amount of the credit and rent increases across the State for each year that the credit has been in operation.”. To be frank, I will briefly discuss these recommendations because they ar…

I move recommendation No. 3: In page 15, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “Report on Mortgage Interest Relief 7. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the introduction of temporary mortgage interest relief, available in respect of mortgages on principal private residences, applied at source on a monthly basis where mortgages under €80,000 are not excluded.”.

I move recommendation No. 4: In page 15, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Report on affordability of housing under Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme 8. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the need to extend the Help-to-Buy to “affordable purchase” making specific reference to the unaffordability of housing under the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme.”.

I move recommendation No. 6: In page 19, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “Report on cost of Employer contributions to PRSAs and PEPPs since 2022 13. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the cost to the Exchequer from aggressive tax planning using the employer contributions to PRSAs and PEPPs since 2022.”. This recommendation is just a common-sense suggestion to ensure the taxpayer is, or is not, frankly, getting value for …

It is not mine. Senator Casey is right.

I move recommendation No. 8: In page 21, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “Report on costs of increasing Standard Fund Threshold to €2.8 million 14. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the costs of increasing the Standard Fund Threshold to €2.8 million, clearly outlining the cost to the Exchequer, as well as providing a cost per beneficiary.”.

I move recommendation No. 10: In page 26, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Report on effectiveness of planned auto-enrolment scheme 16. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the comparative state supports received by workers in the auto-enrolment compared to workers earning above the standard rate band in an occupational pension as a result of income tax relief against earnings from employment for pension contributions, as …

I move recommendation No. 11: In page 42, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Report on tax deduction related to donation to approved sporting bodies by individuals and companies 22. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the tax deduction related to donation to approved sporting bodies to assess effectiveness of this reform, including the frequency of tax deduction being gifted to approved sporting body.”. We are simply callin…

I move recommendation No. 12: In page 42, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “Report on expansion of Professional Services Withholding Tax (PSWT) to private sector 23. The Minister shall, within 3 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the expansion of Professional Services Withholding Tax (PSWT) to the private sector to assess the potential of designating large contractors of professional services as accountable persons.” I will speak briefly on this recom…

I move recommendation No. 13: In page 42, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “Report on withholding tax on short-term rental income 23. The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on potential benefits of introducing an obligation for intermediaries to apply a withholding tax on short-term rental income.”. We are calling for a report on withholding tax on short-term rental income. This recommendation calls on the Minister to, within on…