Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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323. To ask the Minister for Finance if austerity measures are being considered by his Department in response to the economic impact of Covid-19. [16545/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In responding to the impacts of Covid-19, the Government has made available fiscal support totalling €12.6 billion this year. This incorporates an additional direct expenditure allocation of €6.5 billion and taxation measures to the value of €700 million.

The Government also provided for €5.4 billion to be set aside in two contingency funds in 2021 – the Covid Contingency Fund and the Recovery Fund. This is to ensure that any additional costs arising from the pandemic can be met within the existing budgetary arithmetic. And while a high degree of certainty remains, it is the Government expectation that additional costs of the current restrictions can be met from this.

We are undoubtedly still in a period of unprecedented uncertainty. The impact of the current restrictions will have an obvious negative impact on the public finances. However, once the public health situation allows, supports will only be unwound in an appropriate and incremental way. When we are in a position to reopen the economy safely, it is expected that economic growth will do much of the ‘heavy lifting’in restoring the public finances to a sustainable setting.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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324. To ask the Minister for Finance when the banking levy is set to expire in 2021; and when will the last payment be made under the levy. [16578/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Financial Institutions ("Bank") Levy was introduced for the three-year period 2014 to 2016 in Finance (No.2) Act 2013 with the purpose of enabling the banking sector to contribute to economic recovery. The annual yield of this levy is approximately €150 million.

In Finance Act 2016 my predecessor, Minister Michael Noonan, extended the bank levy to 2021. The due date for the last payment of the bank levy under the current legislation is no later than 20 October 2021.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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325. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to extend the banking levy beyond 2021 and to replace the levy with a permanent charge on banks to repay bailout funds. [16579/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Bank Levy was introduced for the three-year period 2014 to 2016 with the purpose of enabling the banking sector to contribute to economic recovery. The annual yield of the Bank Levy is €150 million.

In the Finance Act 2016 the Levy was extended until 2021. That extension had been subject to a review being undertaken of the methodology used to calculate the levy, which included a public consultation with stakeholders in June 2016. That stakeholder exercise was inconclusive in terms of getting external agreement on a possible replacement to the DIRT based methodology.

Ultimately the DIRT-based formula was retained but the then Minister for Finance took into account the suggestion that arose from the Public Consultation that the base year for calculating Levy liability should not be static, and announced in Budget 2017 the introduction of a rolling two-year series of base years.

In order to protect the annual 150 million yield based on the financial institutions DIRT liability, the rate payable has increased from 35% in 2014 to 308% for 2021.

The Bank Levy is due to cease in 2021 and as yet, I have made not made my decision as to whether the levy will cease or continue beyond 2021 or the format, if any, it may take.