Results 221-240 of 4,811 for speaker:Neale Richmond

Credit Review Bill 2024: Second Stage (7 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Credit Review is a body under the aegis of the Department of Finance. It was established by the Minister for Finance in 2010 under section 210 of the NAMA Act 2009, with the objective of facilitating access to bank credit for viable businesses. In the years since its establishment, Credit Review has proved an invaluable source of support...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Second Stage (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank all the Senators who contributed to the debate. In the time available, I will try to touch on as many of the points that have been raised as possible. On Committee Stage the Minister Deputy Chambers or I will be able to go into a bit more detail, particularly on some of the issues raised on the Opposition side of the House. I will begin with Senator Maria Byrne's comments on the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Second Stage (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: Everything we will be saying in the coming general election-----

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Second Stage (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: We were not in coalition with them either. Perhaps it was Independents who were in coalition on the previous occasion.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Second Stage (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: The point I would make is that every promise, as Senator Boyhan knows having been around electoral politics for 40 years, is all about what the result allows one to do in government-----

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Second Stage (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: -----be that in county council format, the Seanad, the Dáil or the Government. A number of Senators mentioned income tax and welcomed the change in the threshold for the second time in a year and advocated for greater change. I will say that Ireland's progressive personal income tax system plays a crucial role in the process of income redistribution. Our redistributive tax system...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank Senators Gavan and Warfield for this recommendation that, ultimately, we will disagree with, but we will disagree with it agreeably, if that is okay. It must be noted that Ireland has one of the most progressive personal income tax systems, which plays a crucial role in the process of income redistribution. Our redistributive tax system has been acknowledged by the IMF, the OECD and...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: In response to Senator McDowell's comments, I watched as Senator Gavan disagreed fundamentally and then disagreed warmly, which was quite an interesting concept that one gets from luxury. I can reassure the Senator that such debates in Fine Gael in Dublin South-East are still common at times, even though we now call the constituency Dublin Bay South. I take both of these very different...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank the Senators for the recommendation. There is already work under way across the Government with regard to short-term rental. The proposed short-term letting and tourism Bill that is being developed by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media will provide the statutory basis for the establishment of a register for short-term lets in Ireland and for the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I will speak on this extremely important and well-meaning recommendation because it is important to provide clarification. To lay out for the purposes of the House, the purpose of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal is to provide a review mechanism for those who have been assessed as not meeting one of the six disabled driver and disabled passenger scheme eligibility criteria by a...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I do not want to add too much on the general research and development tax credit pieces as I would have spoken about that on Second Stage of the Bill and on my owned lived experience as a Minister of State in the Department of enterprise. I am sure Senator Higgins will join the whole House in welcoming the €80 million in additional funding for Ireland's higher level research sector...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: This is not just a matter of ideological difference, it is about a practical difference. First and foremost, we should recognise that there are taxes on wealth already in our economy, and indeed Sinn Féin and its sister party, People Before Profit, regularly vote against the local property tax at local authority level. That is important, for the record, if we are going to be making...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: A new enhanced credit for small- to medium-sized feature film productions is being introduced. The enhanced credit, which will form part of the long-standing section 481 film tax credit, will provide an additional 8% credit for film productions with a maximum qualifying expenditure of €20 million. This will provide for a total support of 40% for in-scope productions. I have been...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I appreciate the sentiment, and I mean this in all seriousness, of the recommendation. I have no major opposition to it but this is an issue of what is practical. There is no mechanism under which Ireland may request another jurisdiction to be added to the EU list. The listing process is an objective process based on agreed tax standards applied consistently to all jurisdictions within the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I am not going to engage on every point.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: As Senator Gavan is aware, the Gambling Regulation Act is under the remit of the Minister for Justice. Therefore, I am not in a position to discuss the legislation in a Finance Bill context. However, any potential change to betting duties is kept under review as part of the tax strategy group and budgetary cycle. This is in line with how the Department of Finance develops and monitors tax...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: A number of factors affect the final retail price of fuels, including energy market dynamics, wholesale pricing, individual retail pricing policy, transport costs, exchange rate fluctuations and taxation. It is important to note that despite the restoration of excise rates which occurred in April and August this year, as well as the carbon tax increase on 9 October, national average retail...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: There are two substantive recommendations here. This was raised in detail on Second Stage, particularly by Senator Higgins. I will try to be brief because the clock is against us, but both recommendations merit debate. Senators will be aware that the Government is genuinely committed to tackling climate change and decarbonising the economy by 2050 and is aware of the challenge that these...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: I will ask the Minister for energy to follow up on that directly.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Nov 2024)

Neale Richmond: When we discuss comparisons between 2024 and 2021, it is important that we acknowledge what happened in that period and what caused major increases in energy prices. We have subsequently seen those increases decline. It is easy to choose a period before Russia invaded Ukraine and we saw massive inflation in the has sector, and then talk about what has happened since when those prices came...