Tracker mortgage failings by lenders have caused significant distress. That phrase probably does not quite capture the level of distress. In some cases, it has had devastating consequences for the affected customers. The Central Bank of Ireland launched the tracker mortgage examination in 2015. This followed engagement and intervention with a number of lenders when it became clear that tracker-related issues could be industry-wide. The tracker mortgage examination was the largest, most complex and most significant …

Obviously, I will not comment on an individual mortgage situation, and the Deputy is not asking me to comment on it. I appreciate that is not the point he is raising in the Dáil tonight. "Yes" is the short answer to his question. I will ask the Central Bank of Ireland to specifically look at the issue the Deputy has raised. If he wishes to either copy me on that correspondence or send me other correspondence outlining the situation, I would be very happy to speak to the Governor of the Central Bank and ask the Cent…

I certainly will. For the record of the House, I do not have any information at my disposal in relation to that wider issue or the potential for a wider issue. However, considering that the Deputy has raised the matter on the floor of the Dáil, I will send a transcript of this exchange to the Central Bank. If I or the Central Bank requires any further information, I will ask it to come back to the Deputy. I will report back to the Deputy once I have received an update from the Central Bank.

Until December 2016, income and gains arising on Irish real estate and distributed by certain Irish regulated funds to non-resident investors were outside the scope of Irish taxation. The Irish real estate fund, or IREF, regime was introduced in the Finance Act 2016 to address concerns that non-resident investors who were making investments in collective investment funds were not taxed on income and gains from Irish property. That was the starting point in relation to the regime the Deputy referenced. The regime is…

I will come back on this.

Let the record of the House show that it was a government led by my party in 2016 that introduced the legislation and legislated in relation to these issues. Just to be clear. I know the Deputy does this thing about Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for the social media clips, but let the record of the House show that it was a Fine Gael Minister for Finance who actually legislated in relation to the IREF legislation. The reason I read out the lengthy answers at the start of this is because the Deputy distorts the situation…

Again, it was Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in government that introduced the renters' tax credit. It was Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil-----

No, sorry. You get to say your thing and I do not say "Oh my God", so just sit there and allow me answer these-----

Just to be very clear-----

I just do not understand. If the Deputy is so effective at his job-----

-----I do not understand why he is sitting over there as the longest-serving Opposition spokesperson on finance in the history of the European Union. Maybe reflect on that for a moment. We introduced the renters' tax-----

We are here and you are there-----

-----and that is for a reason called democracy. We introduced the renters' tax credit. We increased the renters' tax credit. The programme for Government commits to further increasing the renters' tax credit. It is now worth more than €300 million to renters in this country. We also introduced rent pressure zones, including providing protections to renters in Donegal, that did not exist until we brought in those rent pressure zones. There are specific issues - and this does not suit the Deputy's quick social media …

That is why we will publish this year a consultation on a simplified IREF regime.

That is a slur.

I thank Deputy Nash. The introduction of the investment account is a key step in fostering a stronger culture of long-term investment in our country and supporting greater financial resilience over time for individuals and families. We want to provide a simple, accessible and attractive framework for investment. The investment account will help individuals to put their savings to work, strengthen their economic resilience by helping people build assets, prepare for future financial needs, and improve their ability …

These are very fair questions. I am very happy to engage with them and we should engage with them in detail through the Finance Bill piece. While we have seen a significant uptake in these accounts in a number of member states that have introduced them, I do not see this as a kind of light bulb or light switch moment. I see this more as a cultural change in terms of finance and investment that we will be on over a number of years and, if and when this works, I see this as being a moment that we will look back on in…

Sorry, my apologies.

I very much agree that time will tell is a fair analysis of the situation, and I appreciate that the Deputy does not have an ideological or principled objection to it. I also appreciate that this House will want to get the detail right and will want to tease through that. I fully accept that we are living through a cost-of-living crisis and I fully accept that that it is real, but alongside that there is data from the CSO published only in the past month that shows that Irish people are continuing to save in many c…

I fully and factually have to accept that the price of diesel and petrol has risen further since the Dáil was recalled. That is a statement of fact and there is an onus on all of us in this House to work in a constructive fashion in terms of more proposals and ideas that we can consider together. Faced with the sudden rise in global energy prices, we have taken a number of actions. We have taken actions that did reduce the price as to what it otherwise would have been at the pumps. We have provided targeted assista…