Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials. I am looking at the fiscal monitor. I know June is a non-VAT month but receipts, however, were below profile. They have however increased by €345 million or 4.9% on 2018. Given the decision taken in the budget to return to the 13.5% VAT rate - which I supported - was the Minister disappointed with the VAT take so far? More generally on the issue of tax broadening, one of our colleagues mentioned carbon taxation and perhaps equalising diesel and petrol and other similar steps which are being considered. What kind of progress does the Minister think can be made in that area?

As we get closer to this Halloween date, what kind of additional information will the Minister have for the third quarter? He mentioned that we will have the tax strategy papers. What kind of further information, however, will be at his disposal at the end of September to enable him to come in with some kind of a budget the following week? To elaborate on that point, the Minister has commented on some of the issues regarding stabilisers etc. That mitigates against the need for a second budget if there is a disorderly Brexit. Will it prove to be a situation somewhat similar to 2009, however? We had two budgets that year during the crash.

The former Deputy and Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan, along with the former Deputy and then Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, had to come into the Dáil twice. Surely we will need an emergency Brexit budget now as well. The Minister has been going back and forth on some of the elements of what spending might be. All of that, however, will go out of the window if there is a national emergency. That is what will occur if there is a disorderly Brexit. Regarding our national debt, and again this matter was earlier by a colleague, our overall debt has increased by €4.5 billion since 2016. The National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, has done a good job in refinancing in recent years.

Would the Minister anticipate any difficulties if he or the next Minister for Finance has to go back to the market to try to finance important current and capital spending, given the experience the Italian Government and finance Minister have recently had with bonds? Given the international situation and the overall risk, I noted that one of the two candidates for the leadership of the Tory Party is saying that his definite plan is to introduce a 12.5% corporation tax rate, which reminds us of another rate. We have a very volatile President of the United States who is making all kinds of changes to taxation as well. Surely these kinds of risks will be very profound for 2020 and the early 2020s.