Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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On a point of clarification, in the distributional analysis of tax and welfare changes in Budget 2021 the reduction in VAT was counted as progressive and partially offsetting the increase in carbon tax. Can the Minister clarify if he expects this measure to be passed on to consumers or as a business support to be absorbed by the business balance sheet? If it is the latter, will he accept that it should not be factored into the distributional analysis carried out by his Department? Separately, the VAT reduction is temporary, as are certain social welfare measures, so will he commit in this committee to multiannual welfare increases in every year to 2030 in line with these sections of the Bill?