Temporary measures are temporary measures; that is the nature of a temporary measure. What did happen in the previous budget was the largest increase in investment in the disability sector on record, with an almost 20% increase on the previous year. My colleague tells me it was €620 million. That is how much additional funding was put into disability services, daycare and respite. These are all areas that people with a disability have been looking for. There is a commitment this year, and the Minister, Deputy Calle…

One basic point people fail to acknowledge and recognise is that the huge increase in energy prices is not as a consequence of decisions taken by the Government but as a consequence of an issue happening in the Middle East. That is not of the Government’s making. I think we can all agree on that. This is what has been the biggest driver in the increase in the cost of energy since the crisis began. As a consequence of and in reply to that, the Government did take corrective actions, not once but twice. This was to t…

The Deputy has had the vote, so he can go back and claim he has taken that position. The House has had to vote on his amendment. It was comprehensively beaten, not just by the Government Members but by other Members in the Dáil who support the model that has been implemented because they can see the benefit of it in terms of the money being reinvested. I will just give the Deputy a flavour. In budget 2026, €1.114 billion was allocated for climate measures and to ensure the most vulnerable would be protected from th…

What I am quoting are the figures from 2025 and 2026. I have outlined how the €1.114 billion was allocated to each Department. I cannot break it down in granular form for the Deputy here today, but what I am outlining, at a high level, is how the money collected is going back to the various Departments. When carbon tax was introduced initially, my understanding was that the first €20 was not ring-fenced and that anything over and above that was for the measures I have outlined already. I will come back to the Deput…

To the Deputy's latter point, I am always open to good suggestions from the Opposition; I am just not sure it always come forward with them. I say that in jest.

In all seriousness, I acknowledge all Members of the Dáil in terms of their co-operation and their positive engagement on this legislation since it was first introduced by my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, when she was a backbench TD. I fully appreciate the amendment is coming from a position of good faith and I am not at all questioning Deputy Nash's bona fides in relation to the reason for advancing it. The Government has considered the proposal to insert a new subsection that would provide a per…

I thank the Acting Chair. Certainly, us politicians can quite often be accused of "tokenism" but I am very conscious we are not talking about that today. We are talking about "tokenisation". I thank the Senator for raising this important and topical issue. Given that Ireland is both a large funds domicile and home to significant financial services and technology sectors, there would appear to be obvious synergies that should allow us to keep pace with these technological advances. We are closely monitoring developm…

I thank the Senator for raising this very important and topical issue. I will not give a commitment to amendments in the forthcoming finance Bill but I think I have been very fair in what I have outlined regarding the work officials in my Department and the Central Bank have done to date in engaging with industry. We acknowledge the huge opportunities this presents. We want to capitalise on them. That is why I have confirmed publicly here today that there will be a section within the Ireland for Finance strategy. T…

I thank the Senator for raising this extremely matter in the House today. I acknowledge his passion and advocacy on this issue over many months and years. I know that when I am going through a bout of health consciousness and running 5 km at a time, I feel far better than when I am not. We can all agree on the importance of participating, encouraging greater participation in sport and fitness activities and continuing to support those already participating in sports. It is acutely important. As the Senator said, pr…

All I would say is I do not know how but, after being beaten twice, you are still in the championship. The championship was never designed to give teams such as Dublin three cracks at the whip but there you have it. I have listened carefully to Senator Gallagher's contribution and I want to reiterate the point that it is a programme for Government commitment that we want to look at a variety of means of increasing participation in sport. This, quite clearly, is one opportunity. The Senator will acknowledge that the…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, which is relatively short and covers the tax aspects of the energy support measures announced by the Government in March and April this year. I will first say a few words about the wider economic landscape. As Deputies are aware, the global economy is facing its second major energy price shock in less than five years. As a small, highly open economy and a net energy importer, Ireland is naturally exposed to movements …

I met protesters on the march. I did not go anywhere. I was not booed either.

Not at all.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions today. I join in the congratulations to my colleague. It is a great honour to be elected at any stage but he will be particularly pleased to be re-elected during a by-election. I offer him my best wishes for the remainder of this term. Neither I nor anyone in Government are patting themselves on the back. We are acknowledging and outlining the measures we have introduced in response to a global issue. The one thing we can all agree on is the need to continually monit…

Deputy Doherty also called for the carbon tax to be further reduced for kerosene, as well as for further reductions in the mineral oil tax for other fuels. The Government has deferred the planned increase in carbon tax scheduled for 1 May until October. This will impact green diesel and non-propellant fuels such as kerosene, heating oil, natural gas and solid fuels. A number of speakers made the point that they are aware of old age pensioners who were going cold because they simply had no money for fuel. That shoul…

He did not claim that he did.

With regard to the carbon tax, some speakers referred to no concrete measures being taken to reduce the long-term cost of energy for people. The deep retrofitting of houses is making sure that people who are in receipt of fuel allowance, who are more likely to be susceptible to fuel poverty, have lower energy costs in the longer term. In 2025, €469 million was spent on the retrofitting of homes. They are permanent measures. I see it first hand in my constituency, and I am sure others see it also. Some €140 million …

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform, Digitalisation, and Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)(b) and 188(1).

The motor insurance transparency code was launched as a priority measure under the Government action plan for insurance reform from 2025 to 2029 to enhance transparency, clarity and consumer understanding in the motor insurance market. The code was developed by a working group comprising insurers and intermediaries with the support of the Department of Finance and the Central Bank. The code is designed to complement, rather than duplicate, existing regulatory requirements. It sits under the legislative umbrella of …

As the Deputy will be aware, we are implementing the second action plan on insurance reform. Reforms are working. The latest CSO data of April 2026 shows that in the year to date insurance premiums are 2.2% lower this year than in April 2025. The Deputy may want to dispute that figure. Premiums are still 35.8% lower than they were at the peak of 2016. I acknowledge that we need to keep a close focus on this to ensure we continue to see a downward move. This transparency code will help to achieve that. Some 2.2 mill…