Dáil debates

Wednesday, 3 November 2021

Finance Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed)

 

6:52 pm

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for introducing the Bill on this Stage. It is hard, in just over three minutes, to go through all its elements but I look forward to engaging with the Minister on Committee Stage. There are three sections and one aspect of the Bill that I believe are extremely important. They relate to the fulfilment of key promises that have been made by the Government, including the Minister for Finance, for quite some time. The measures are clearly positive for workers. I am referring to the widening of the tax bands. It is encouraging to see, in section 6, that the tax bands are being widened. While we have the most progressive taxation system in the EU, we have the lowest point at which people hit the higher threshold. Since 2010 we have had a doubling, to 600,000, of the number of people reaching the higher threshold so the introduction of the relief for ordinary workers is extremely important. The effect of the relief, together with the change of thresholds for the universal social charge in section 2, can demonstrably be seen in people’s pay packets at the end of the month. Every worker benefits from this Finance Bill and the work of this Government.

There is scope for more work on section 3, but it is an excellent start. The section pertains to the relief for those working at home. We discussed this the last time the Minister was taking parliamentary questions. We talked about the opportunities that working from home and in remote hubs presents for every worker across the country, not only in rural areas but also elsewhere, particularly in my very much suburban constituency. If workers must go to the workplace or office two or three days per week, they can still benefit from working remotely for the rest of it. They have been able to prove over the very bad 18 months of the pandemic that working remotely works. We have seen a genuine resolution in the thought space regarding remote working. Given the opportunities that have arisen from very difficult circumstances, we must take every opportunity presented to us to seize the potential that remote working offers to everyone across the island in a range of key sectors. It can be used as a tool not only to incentivise investment in various regions but also to attract investment in the State and encourage job creation. We welcome the heartening change in the unemployment figures today. The rate of unemployment has lowered from 20% to 7.9%, which shows the continuing progress in this area.

Those are just three aspects of a comprehensive Finance Bill. Not only do I welcome it, but I also look forward to supporting it through its various Stages.

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