Results 3,541-3,560 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move recommendation No. 8: In page 25, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “Report on Diesel and Kerosene Subsidies 23.The Minister shall within 6 months of the passing of this Act publishing a report outlining the amount of fossil fuel subsidies provided by the State, including subsidies through tax relief or revenue forgone, in respect of (a) Diesel for...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The phrase "just transition" is used quite a lot. I believe in just transition. I await the just transition territorial plan, which we are due to submit to the EU, with great interest. The Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action has requested to see this plan but has not yet seen it. We all want to see just transition but we must be clear that it relates to supports for those...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To be clear, it is not so much that I support these changes; it is just that I regard the cost of carbon as being high. I regard also that it is closer to an accurate reflection of those costs. It will be extremely hard to sustain. I am aware that climate change will have an extraordinarily negative and inequitable impact. On climate action, we should be taking every measure we can to...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Can I please make a small but an important point? There is nothing more real than our planetary boundaries. While any business sector may change, finances might change, and our entire fiscal and monetary structures may change, there is one thing that is not negotiable. When we talk about being real, the thing we need to be real about is our planetary boundaries and the impact of emissions....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is about the tax rebates that are provided-----

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----for diesel for agricultural vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, HGVs, and haulage vehicles.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: These are Central Statistics Office figures. The CSO did an analysis in 2019 of the amount of indirect subsidies arising from revenue forgone due to tax abatements. These are CSO figures. The revenue forgone in jet kerosene in 2019 was €634 million. The revenue forgone through a lower excise duty on diesel fuel was estimated at €400 million. These are the CSO statistics.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I may have misspoken by focusing on the diesel tax rebate scheme. However, I note that my recommendation addresses subsidies through tax relief or revenue forgone. In fact, the equalisation measure may well be captured by my recommendation.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I suppose I am, yes.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I draw to the Minister's attention to the fact that what I have proposed is a report. If, for example, the Minister wishes to produce a nuanced response to that matter, my proposal is a report on diesel and kerosene subsidies.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am pointing out that-----

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The reason I raised my hand was because the Minister referred to the immediate introduction of the equalisation of taxation. That implied my recommendation proposed that immediate introduction. I am only looking for a report that would explicitly refer to diesel for agricultural vehicles in terms of tax relief or revenue forgone and the diesel for HGV and other haulage vehicles. It may...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I said I think that is a part of a longer term strategy.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move recommendation No. 9: In page 25, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “Report 23.The Minister shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the revenue raised by excluding developments from section 21 where the development is a facility consisting of one or more than one structure, the combined gross...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is regrettable. I hope that by next year progress will have been made so we do not have a situation where we are trying to create tax incentives for data centres. Given their energy impacts, we need to be very carefully reviewing their role in our economy and environment. I will withdraw the recommendation because of the time constraints and with due respect to other Senators who have...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move recommendation No. 11: In page 94, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “Report on restriction of carrying forward of bank losses 36.The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on policy options which could be taken to restrict banks from carrying forward losses against...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No, I will wait to hear from my colleague on this side of the House. I may withdraw recommendation No. 11, however, because Senator Gavan's recommendation is more reasonably worded.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This would only be for such loans that have been profitable. The concern is that we underwrite the risk and then we do not take the share of the profits. I understand some of the arguments on the underwriting of risk. For example, I did not oppose the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Act 2020 in that sense but where the risk is being effectively underwritten by the State and there is profit...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will withdraw.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To be honest, I doubt that we will reach the recommendation which was most important to me, which related to gender equality issues in private pension tax relief. I can see a lot of important recommendations on the very far side of this and I doubt that we will reach them. I want to reply on two things. First, yes, of course the recovery and resilience fund is really important. I am not...