Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Nash. I will deal with each of his questions in turn. In respect of the current status of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal, particularly in the context of the scheme it oversees and for which my Department has responsibility, as the committee will be aware, all of the board members who were in place resigned in November 2021. Subsequently, five new members were appointed. The board is currently working. There are currently 431 applications on the waiting list which will need to be considered by the board in due course. As for the scheme itself, I accept it no longer fulfils the purpose for which it was set up. The Department of the Taoiseach has asked my Department and the Department of Transport to explore a more appropriate scheme to take its place. We are now looking at options for a new grant-based scheme. While responsibility for such a scheme is likely to sit with the Department of Transport, I will have responsibility for phasing out the current scheme and creating the environment for a new scheme to take its place. It will require close work between the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, and I. That work is now under way at an official level. It is a real priority to see how we can move that issue forward. I am aware of the difficulty it has caused to many for so long.

To address the Deputy’s point regarding corporation tax forecasts, it is certainly possible that, due to the potential impact of tariffs on trade, purchases and supply chain developments took place in the early part of the year. That could well have an impact on the corporation tax receipts we collect later in the year and into next year. It is certainly conceivable we might see corporation tax receipts continue to fare well for a little more time. I would not be banking on it at the moment, however. The negotiations between the United States and other OECD countries, which are at an early stage, are one development that could have a material effect on our corporation tax receipts. The second issue which could materially affect them is the changes being considered at US level to the operation of its corporate tax code. While it is possible there will be an increase, I am certainly not assuming it will happen. This is a key issue my officials and I will need to engage on in advance of the budget. On budget day itself, we will publish a revision as to what we believe corporate tax receipts will be for next year.

In the context of custom declarations, while, of course, we welcome the restart and new approach that has taken place between the EU and the United Kingdom, what is most likely to happen is that custom declarations will probably stabilise at their current level. Any further increase will now be driven by the kind of normal growth in trade that we have seen happen in recent years. We do not, at this point, anticipate that will have an effect on customs declarations.