Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to reflect on sections 5 to 10, inclusive. Given the deadline that was imposed for Deputies to submit amendments, it was not possible for me to capture all that was required but I think it is important to reflect on the extension of the debt warehousing scheme, which will now apply to directors and employees with a material interest in a company who will be allowed to warehouse tax liabilities relating to schedule E income from a company where their income is self-assessed. Previously, if a company availed of debt warehousing for PAYE employers liability, any directors or employees who had a material interest in a company could not claim credit for taxes deducted if those taxes had been warehoused and not paid over to Revenue by the company. This meant these directors and employees would be personally liable for these tax liabilities but it would only apply for income tax warehousing.

Sections 72 and 73 of the finance Bill brought forward by the Government changed that arrangement by allowing individuals who did not qualify for income tax warehousing to warehouse tax liabilities relating to their schedule E income from that company. We now know, and it has been in the media today, that high-wealth individuals who have a net wealth of €20 million or more have through this scheme warehoused €6 million in tax debt, availing of beneficial repayment and interest provision. There are serious questions about how the Dáil and the Government can stand over that arrangement. I call on the Minister of State not to extend this part of this section to those individuals. It should never have been allowed in the first place.

Amendments Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, are in my name. The purpose of the amendments is to provide further relief and support to hard-pressed households during this cost of living crisis. As I have stated many times, and I will do so again, Sinn Féin recognises that the Government cannot shield everyone from every single price increase.

However, we are fully aware that the Government can and should do more to support workers and families who, without support, cannot withstand the price increases without significant financial hardship.

Amendment No. 4 would reduce the price of petrol by a further 13 cent, including VAT. It is very important to make the point that the Minister of State gave no reason this could not be done. This is simply policy and there is nothing preventing us from doing this. We can do it today if we vote on it and reduce the cost of petrol for motorists. Amendment No. 5 would reduce the cost of diesel by another 9 cent per litre, including VAT. Both amendments are consistent with the requirements of the excise directive. As I have stated on numerous occasions, amendment No. 5 would require the temporary suspension of the diesel rebate scheme but would ensure the benefits of that scheme continue to be enjoyed for those who qualify due to the excise reduction provided by the amendment. The diesel rebate scheme is a way for the Government to reduce excise for a small, limited number of people. It applies to some hauliers and some transport operators, although not all of them. We are proposing to suspend that for the moment and give them the rebate or reduction directly at the pump, while giving all other motorists that rebate as well. There is nothing preventing us from doing that, apart from political ideology. Amendment No. 7 provides a further reduction in the price of green agricultural diesel, which is so important for our agricultural contractors who are not able to avail of the double carbon tax reliefs. That would be a reduction of 3.3 cent per litre VAT inclusive, relative to the price in April of this year.

Crucially, amendment No. 6 addresses the spiralling cost of home heating oil, which is completely out of control. This impacts one out of every three houses across the State. In places like my county of Donegal, it is two out of every three houses. Right down the west coast, 66% of people, or two out of three households, depend on home heating oil as their primary source of heating. In the last period, home heating oil has hit massive prices. It cost €1,700 in March to fill a tank with oil. The price has more than doubled in the space of a year and many households cannot bear this cost. With this amendment, we are proposing to reduce the cost of filling a tank by €118. Many households simply cannot bear these price increases. Not only have they been forgotten by this Government, they have been punished by it. Last week, the Government voted against a similar motion from Sinn Féin that would have removed excise duty on home heating oil and reduced the price from Sunday past. Not only did the Government vote against our motion, it went one step further and jacked up the price of home heating oil, increasing pressure on one out of three households across the State and two out of three households across the west and north west who rely on that source of fuel to heat their homes and their families. Amendment No. 6 is another opportunity for Deputies to do the right thing and reduce the cost of home heating oil. I ask them not to blow it this time. We are putting this amendment forward to give real relief to families in the middle of all this pressure. Hopefully, the Government will have seen sense since last week.

The Minister of State spoke about hypothecation. I pulled him up on this last week. There is no tax in Irish tax law that is hypothecated or ring-fenced. The idea that if we reduce carbon tax we will not be able to fund other measures is nonsense. The tax goes into a central pool. This is an ideological issue. It is a policy issue and policies can differ. There is no legal impediment to funding retrofitting from VAT, income tax or anything else because the money all goes into a central fund. This is about excise duty and carbon tax. I am glad the penny has finally dropped for the Government that there is excise duty on these things. In fairness to those in Fianna Fáil, to give them their dues, they did not take out false, misleading, Trump-style attack ads about this. It was Fine Gael that led the charge on that.

I commend these amendments to the House. They would have a real impact on a lot of people who are struggling with the costs of getting from A to B because of diesel and petrol and, crucially, would help all the households that are trying to keep their homes and families warm.

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