Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I spoke before on the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021. I welcome all the things the Minister of State has done to date, but I have some concerns.

KPMG has issued an informative report on the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021, calling it “an important step in providing clarity and support for businesses as they reopen and resume normal trading following Covid-19 restrictions”. I agree that businesses require clarity. I agree that businesses require further supports. I agree that this is what the Bill aims to achieve. However, I do not agree that we are working towards reopening and resuming trade for business in this country. I do not agree that more money equates to more clarity or support. I do not agree with all aspects of this Bill. For example, I do not agree with the fact that the Government refuses to rectify and continues to cover up the economic mess that Covid-19 restrictions have caused.

It is necessary to extend supports because we continue to leave enterprise in this country in complete darkness. Over the last 18 months, businesses in the service industry have not known when they can open, or how long they can remain open for. Extending supports will keep them floating in the uncertainty this Government has created. However, extending supports is not a fix. Support is not indefinite. Financial supports use taxpayers’ money to mask the problems that the Government will not face.

We are facing problems. Per head of population, Ireland is set to have the highest debt in Europe this year. According to officials in the Department of Finance, it will be one of the highest per capitadebts in the world. This debt is not forecast to fall, but to rise. We are €20,000 above the EU average. We will be even more above this average unless we take action.What does action mean? Action does not mean more financial supports. Action does not mean waiting to see. Action means opening up. Action means getting business back. Action means changing course because the one we are on is clearly not working. If the Government refuses to take action, this Bill is necessary. We cannot let businesses suffer at the hands of Government-imposed restrictions on their trade.

There is a provision in this Bill that cannot be supported in or out of lockdown, namely, section 15. Section 15 allows vulture funds to profit from their bulk-purchasing of housing in this country. For how long have we spent telling the Government that this is wrong? For how long have we discussed vulture funds and cuckoo funds? For how long are we going to have to talk about them still? The Minister for Finance placed a 10% stamp duty on bulk purchases a short while ago. He claimed this would be a "deterrent" to developers who buy up all residential property in the country. Now, going back on its assurances, the Government has devised section 15. Section 15 states that if the houses that vulture funds snap up are leased back to the local authority, the stamp duty is dropped. The vulture funds profit. The housing crisis continues.

We adopt short-term solutions in this country. I have said before that this Bill masks one problem, the troubling economic situation we are ignoring, and it creates another, an opportunity for vulture funds to profit. This is not a viable way to legislate. Businesses need our support, but support involves more than money. Support is action, and that support does not involve giving vulture funds a free pass.