Results 3,221-3,240 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: It is not just about the €57 million. The Deputy acknowledged he would not make any changes to carbon tax in May. That increases the cost further. He said he would not make any changes to carbon tax in October, which increases the cost further again. It is the thin end of the wedge. The Deputy is not really in favour of carbon-----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I know, but the Deputy acknowledged in our exchange that this would not be the end of it. I do not think even he would suggest putting the tax back up in October, but he definitely would not go ahead with the other increases in carbon taxes in October or May. It is not just about €57 million in the context of the overall public finances. Last year, we collected close to €800...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy referred to energy supports. Electricity is energy and people have had four electricity credits. We also cut excise on transport fuels, which we will discuss presently. That went to every owner of a vehicle that uses fossil fuels. We also reduced the VAT on electricity. Those changes have been made. It is not possible to have a perfect response such that every single group...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: Will the Deputy bear with me? He is saying that this proportion of householders does not get direct support. That is not the case.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy wants to drive a coach-and-four through the policy on carbon tax, which is about raising money that will be used for retrofitting, agri-environmental farming and fuel poverty measures. It allows for the supports we have been able to provide, including the expansion of eligibility for the fuel allowance. Every year, we publish information on how that is funded and the amount that...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: In using that phrase, I was referring to specific issues. The Deputy is saying there is no measure that benefits only those 37% of households. That is, in effect, what he is saying.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I will add a few points. We brought forward various measures that benefit households most in need irrespective of where in the country they are located. These include bullet payments on fuel allowance for people who are genuinely in need and qualify because of the means test and their specific household circumstances, and the way in which we extended the eligibility for that measure. There...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: In effect what we are doing here is extending the excise reductions but also, as the Deputy acknowledges, providing for a phased restoration across three different points on 1 June, 1 September and 31 October. There is a cost associated with this section in the order of €383 million. The base assumed that these rates would have gone back up fully at the end of February. To answer...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: The truth is that different countries have adopted different approaches to this issue. The focus now is on ensuring that the reductions we have seen at the wholesale level are passed on as quickly as possible to customers at the retail level. That is where our focus needs to be, and to encourage the companies in that regard. We went from a peak of approximately £7 per therm of gas to...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: Without having the full details of what every country is doing, I can tell the Deputy that the broad thrust of discussion at EU level has been about withdrawing those types of supports and arrangements. We have seen that in the UK, although it is not part of the European Union. That has also been the talk among many of my colleagues around the table at EU level. Policymakers at EU level...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: We also did not know when it was going to peak or at what level it would peak. We cannot step in and provide a guarantee for each household that it would cost no more than X, without knowing what Y, the price on the market, will be. That cannot be costed.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: How much would the TBESS cost?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: We have put a cap on the benefit.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy. On the question of a price cap and what he is suggesting, of course one can make assumptions and predict what is going to happen in the market in the months ahead. The difference between us is that I will not place a bet on the markets with taxpayers' money, which is what Deputy Doherty would be asking us to do. He criticised the interventions that we have made, but at...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: Bear with me. One could make a reasonably accurate estimate of the cost. If one tells Mr. and Mrs Murphy that they will pay no more than a certain amount and one does not know for sure what the gross price the market provider will charge is going to be, one cannot accurately cost what this will involve. That is the reality from where I sit. Of course we look at different examples....

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: I examined a range of factors when considering the Department's advice. I accept its advice that this should end. The question is one of timing. In that regard, my colleagues and I had to consider the fact that there are significant regional variations. Much is often said about the price of hotels in Dublin and much criticism is levelled in that direction. It is not a uniform issue...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: When one reads the assessment, it is clear that the Department's advice would be to not extend it. Taking into account a whole range of factors that I have gone through, my position and the Government's position was that a six-month extension was appropriate. I am not sure of Deputy Doherty's position. He was given the economic assessment. I am not sure whether he supports the decision to...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: That debate will go on. There is nothing more certain than that. I am providing certainty regarding what the Government will do at the end of August. That is what I propose we legislate for.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy asked some questions about the cost of these measures. My officials have now provided some costs, which I will quickly share, with the permission of the Chair. With regard to section 658A, which relates to slurry storage, the estimated cost was €1 million in 2022 and €9 million in 2023. The combined estimated cost in respect of section 667B, which relates to stock...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Rental Sector (29 Mar 2023)

Michael McGrath: A significant array of reliefs and exemptions are available for landlords. I assume that the Deputy's question reflates to sections 97 and 97A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA), which sets out the allowable deductions in computing rental income chargeable to income tax or corporation tax under Case V of Schedule D. Income chargeable under Case V is computed on the gross amount of rent...