Anthony Lawlor (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has been to the House often and I have locked horns with him on a couple of occasions but I welcome him this evening. The budget was framed around the Brexit situation. People may say a deal has been done but it has not passed through the British Houses of Parliament and current comment in the UK suggests the person who will lead the next Government hopes to get a further deal done by 31 December 2020. Most European trade deals take seven years on average to complete. If it happens in one year it will be a total miracle. They could yet crash out without having a sufficient deal, so the budget is focused around that possibility.

The employers contribution to the training fund was increased. This was announced in the budget through the Minister of State's Department although it is actually administered and collected by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and then delivered through the Department of Education and Skills. In the past, there was a training fund that was abused. I refer to the FÁS scheme, and things like that. Will the Minister of State reassure the House that his Department will keep a watchful eye on the manner in which this training fund is expended?Given that there is full employment, the Minister of State might explain the reason for the increase in the training fund and give some assurance that the Department of Finance will keep an eye on how it is spent.

Are we getting any closer to the introduction of an affordable purchase scheme for housing? While I accept that it is not the remit of the Department of Finance, that Department will sanction it because the funding will come through it.

In regard to the carbon tax provisions, will the Minister of State indicate whether hydrogen cars will be covered? Currently, three companies in Japan sell such models. If they are imported, will they be covered by vehicle registration tax and the various carbon tax initiatives for electric cars?

How much did the banks pay the State in the past tax year? What dividend did they pay back to the State and for what is it used? Is the Minister of State happy with the performance of the public interest bank directors? They have been in place for a number of years. Does he expect them to be replaced?