Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the amendment by Deputy Naughten. He acknowledged that it derived partly from a contribution I made on Committee Stage on the need to explore accelerated capital allowances and associated caveats since not all companies are the same. Capital allowances are relevant for any company that is facilitating remote working. Companies can claim capital allowances on expenditure anyway. They can claim at a rate of 12.5% over a period of eight years. This could offset the full amount of the investment over an eight-year period. Accelerated capital allowances would allow all that to be claimed in one year. It would be a cash flow issue as opposed to a revenue loss issue for the State, but it would be an incentive for companies that may not be in a position to wait eight years to recoup or offset the full amount of expenditure against their taxable profits to support employees who are working from home.

Many issues have been touched on in terms of the benefits of remote working. The Minister has outlined the need for vibrant city centres. That is important and no one disputes it. However, the importance of having vibrant towns, vibrant rural communities and people working from home in those places matters too. Many people, including people from my extended family, commute from west Donegal to Dublin on a weekly basis and there are costs incurred. Being at home and being able to go to the local café as opposed to the café in the city centre is equally important for businesses in those communities. As I said, the issue of accelerated capital allowances involves bringing forward in a timely manner the ability to be able to claim all of them in one year as opposed to spreading them over a period of eight years.

The Minister will acknowledge that there are other more advanced capital allowances that can be claimed at a rate of 15% for other types of expenditure. It does not have to be a case of one or the other. The Deputy is asking for a report. Let us consider this. Before the pandemic ever visited us and brought all the pain and misery that it has brought, remote working was more and more part of our future. That is the reality. We have to find ways to support it so that we can have remote hubs where people can access proper services and so on. People will be availing of this from their homes. The Minister will be aware that several years ago we had a discussion on this on the Finance Bill. If memory serves me right it was three or four years ago. The Minister brought forward changes to the Finance Act and introduced a new category of accelerated capital allowances. The category of accelerated capital allowances was for gym equipment where companies provided gym equipment that could be of use to their employees. The Minister and the Department recognised the importance of workers being able to stay fit and of employers being able to offset in one calendar year the cost of providing gym equipment to their employees. In another case, a higher rate was provided for the building or the extension of a building where gym equipment would be housed.

What is the difference? Is there not a social value in supporting individuals who are remote working, who want to remote work and who may be involved in a hybrid of remote working on a Monday or Friday and travelling to the city or town centre in the middle of the week? Many workers to whom I have talked want a little of both.

We are going to have a situation in future where people are not properly equipped. People are doing this type of work from kitchen tables and chairs. All of this will cause untold problems in future with the health and well-being of workers, because those settings are not designed for a person to sit and work for eight hours at length.

This is a timing issue from a taxation point of view. It is not a revenue gain or loss. The question we have to ask is whether there is a social good in terms of supporting remote working. I believe there is and that it is going in that direction anyway. I recall a briefing in the Department of the Taoiseach, perhaps a year ago, where someone talked about how by 2050 there would be more people remote working than in physical buildings, although I could be corrected on the numbers. The pandemic has accelerated that pathway.

All that is being asked for is a report. This issue should be examined in a timely manner. It should be published well in advance of the Finance Bill next year so that we can have an informed discussion on whether or which way we should try to support this.

As I said in my contribution on Committee Stage and today on Report Stage, I recognise that not all businesses will need this support. However, some businesses will. Most important, workers may need the proper equipment and supports to be able to work from home, if that is where they are working. Moreover, a company may need to be able to equip a satellite unit or hub to facilitate remote working.

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