Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State gave a lengthy explanation but he did not answer the questions that were posed respectfully by the three of us. At the risk of repeating myself, this payment was quite correctly introduced as an urgent needs payment. Under the Finance Act 2018, an urgent needs payment is exempt from income tax. Saying that the Government said it would be taxable does not matter. What matters is how the Government introduced the payment. It was introduced as an urgent needs payment and such payments are exempt from tax. I do not know if the Minister of State is a fan of Doctor Who, who likes to travel back in time in the Tardis. The Minister of State does not have that power, and I am surprised that he might think he does. He is basing his argument on the legislation of 5 August, but we know how this was introduced. We support how it was introduced. It received universal support. It appears to be extremely mean-spirited to try to recoup some of these moneys now. It will bring hardship to families.

Frankly, I am surprised that this is a message Fianna Fáil is prepared to convey because there will be repercussions from families in terms of how they feel about Fianna Fáil. They do not feel great about it at present according to the opinion polls. This is another massive misstep. It is not even going to bring in much money in gross terms, so it does not make sense from a revenue perspective. In addition, the Minister of State is not addressing the key point, which is that this payment is exempt from tax under the Finance Act 2018. If somebody challenges it, the Minister of State will have to eat all the words he said this morning. It is far better to accept the suggestions of my colleagues, particularly that of Senator Sherlock, and fix it without going down this route.