Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Billy Timmins. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. The budget has, in fairness, tried to reward work and encourage people off the live register and back into employment. This morning we were circulated with the Department of Social Protection's assessment of the budget, which states that 80% of those unemployed would be substantially better off in work.

There are anomalies in that. Family income supplement is not being promoted the way it should be. We need to assist people and show them where the incentives are and where the anomalies are to take them out of the system.

I welcome the Minister for Finance's announcement in the budget that retailers will be supported by reducing the processing costs of electronic payments. This is a welcome development that will support approximately 280,000 jobs in the retail sector, which is the largest sector in the indigenous economy. However, I cannot understand why this measure is kicking in on 9 December. The Minister of State knows that 8 December is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and that on that date, people from the country traditionally came to Dublin to do their shopping. It was always one of the busiest shopping days of the year and yet this particular measure is kicking in the day after. Things have changed dramatically in recent years and Christmas shopping now starts on 1 December and runs right through to 24 December. I cannot understand why this measure was not introduced from 1 December. Why was the date of 9 December picked out of the sky? I know this is coming in as part of an EU directive and that to a certain extent, the EU is forcing the Government to do it. In the UK, this measure is being implemented this month. It is not waiting until December. I ask the Minister to amend this introduction date and give retailers an additional boost by allowing this to commence from 1 December. This additional boost would be approximately €1.4 million in savings to retailers across this country, many of whom are struggling to keep their doors open. It would be a significant support for them in the run up to the Christmas period and would help and promote electronic transactions, so I again ask the Minister to look at this issue before this Bill is enacted.

The second issue I wish to raise concerns small businesses and access to cash flow. The difficulty is that some clients of small businesses know that once the service has been provided or the work has been done, it is very difficult for the debtor to get the money out of that client, particularly if the value is less than €2,000. The person who is owed the money has two choices. They can write it off as a bad debt or take legal action. They must then go through the courts and pay a solicitor's fee and there is no guarantee that at the end of this process, they will actually get paid, so many of them end up writing it off as a bad debt. I suggest that we open up a small claims court to deal specifically with these small debts of less than €2,000. If a business is owed €200 by ten companies, that is a week's wages and there is nothing that business can do to access that money. It would be a significant step forward in supporting local small businesses in improving their credit flow.

I know that the Minister for Finance was very critical yesterday of Bank of Ireland, as were other members of the Government. Bank of Ireland basically does not want cash customers any more. I am in possession of a provision under the mandatory electronic filing and payment of tax regulations of 2014 from the Revenue Commissioners. A letter was sent to a 75 year old widow who is severely arthritic in her limbs and joints telling her she would face a fine of €1,520 if she failed to make her tax returns by electronic means. This woman has never switched on a computer, let alone used one. She has no Internet and no computer skills or training. At the bottom of the letter, it states that Revenue may exclude a taxpayer from their obligation to file and pay electronically if the taxpayer applies for this. However, it does not make sense to send letters like this to pensioners. This woman is 75 years of age and is getting over the loss of her husband who did all her financial transactions. Now she must cope with making tax returns and receives a letter from the Revenue Commissioners demanding she makes an electronic return when she does not even know where to access a computer. We need to look at the approach that is being taken right across Government and society in trying to force people who are not electronically literate, and who may not even be literate, down this road, regardless of whether it is the banks or the Revenue Commissioners. There should be an easy and accessible mechanism to get a waiver in respect of this rather than having to write in and apply. Many people, particularly those who have not been used to this up to now, tend to panic once they get the letter from the Revenue Commissioners. I urge the Minister to withdraw this letter, which has been sent out to quite a number of older people across the country. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. While the Minister is correctly lecturing Bank of Ireland about what it is doing, he has a responsibility to ensure that his Department and the agencies under its control do not send out letters such as this. I hope that on Committee Stage, an amendment is tabled so that this particular regulation is redrafted in a responsible manner, taking into consideration those people who are receiving these letters.

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