I thank Deputy McCormack very much for his kind words. I look forward to working with him. I also very much welcome this question because while I look at it from the Department of Finance perspective now, previously in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade I engaged significantly on trade and tariffs at an EU level. It is so important we continue to, as he rightly says, monitor the impact all these issues have or could have on the Irish and European economies were there to be further changes. I very much welcome that the EU and the US have reached a deal on reciprocal trade. This provides much-needed certainty, or at least more certainty, to exporters. That said, tariffs continue to represent a clear headwind to domestic activity, particularly given the highly globalised nature of our economy. Updated analysis on the impact of tariffs on the economy was conducted by my Department and the ESRI. It was published alongside budget 2026 to reflect the current global tariff landscape. In this analysis, the introduction of tariffs is estimated to reduce our modified domestic demand by around 1.25% over the medium term when compared with a scenario with no tariffs, so it is having an impact. This represents a moderation in growth rather than a decline in economic activity. It is difficult at this stage to make a definitive assessment of the impact tariff changes are currently having on the Irish economy. In the first three quarters of the year GDP recorded double-digit growth on an annual basis. Front-loading of pharmaceutical exports to the US in anticipation of tariffs played a key role in driving headline activity in the opening months of the year. The continued strength of GDP in recent quarters suggests structural factors may also be at work, including significant underlying demand for a limited range of subcategories of pharmaceutical exports. My Department will continue to monitor developments in economic activity as more data becomes available. It is also important to say that forecast done by my Department was on this idea of a 15% tariff. We need to remember pharma is still at 0% because we have not yet had the outcome of the section 232 process and we need to monitor that very closely as well. It is evident global trade has become increasingly less conducive to the free and open exchange that characterised recent decades. In responding to the more challenging trading environment, this Government remains committed to ensuring the continued competitiveness and resilience of the Irish economy - controlling what we can control.
Sentiment score: 0.28
The Deputy is very much right. That is the reason we set up the Government trade forum. We have in the room now all relevant Departments, including mine, along with the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, public expenditure, agriculture and enterprise. We also have the IDA and Enterprise Ireland meeting ISME, Chambers Ireland, IBEC, the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland and all the various agencies so we can continue to hear from the front line exactly what challenges they face. We continue to see an economy that is growing despite the tariffs. We continue to see a significant amount of what we export being exempt from the tariffs but it is why we have taken a number of decisions to try to support Irish businesses and SMEs. It is why we took the decision on the VAT rate on hospitality. It was not popular with everybody in this House but it makes a real difference in supporting cafés, restaurants, hotels serving food and the rural pub. It is also why, through the NDP, we are investing significantly in the infrastructure our towns, villages and cities need to remain competitive. We also published an action plan on market diversification with supports available through Enterprise Ireland.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I absolutely will. The Deputy is right. This is the sector that got away from the final deal. I know from talking to the EU Commission and counterparts this is the next big priority for Europe because of course it affects us here via Tullamore Dew and Irish Distillers but it also affects France, Italy and other countries, as well as Scotland, if you like, outside the EU. This is an issue we as a country and as a Union would have liked to see in the deal. From my conversations with Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Greer, President Trump's trade representative, what we all have to do now is show good faith in delivering on the agreement that is in place. That work is under way on both the EU and US sides. Then we have to sit down around a table again and see whether there are areas where it simply makes sense to do more. The Deputy is right. I have been in Washington, New York and across the United States and there are Irish companies and distillers that would have made investments in the US that would have created US jobs but that have stopped or at least paused those as a result of the impact of the tariffs. President Trump's agenda is about creating more jobs in his country. We can help with that agenda but the 15% tariff is a problem in relation to that.
Sentiment score: 0.16
I am not and I did not know what happens. I thank the Deputies for these questions. I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 15, together. The VAT registration thresholds are, as the Deputies note, subject to the requirements of EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law is obliged to comply. Under the directive there is an upper limit of €85,000 on registration thresholds that member states may apply. Ireland’s VAT registration thresholds are set at €85,000 for supplies of goods and €42,500, as Deputy Conway-Walsh noted, for supplies of services. These VAT goods and services thresholds were increased from €80,000 and €40,000, respectively, in the Finance Act 2024. Even if the turnover is less than a threshold limit, a business may elect to register for VAT. Ireland’s current registration thresholds are some of the most generous thresholds in the EU, with some member states not operating any threshold, meaning all businesses are required to register for VAT. We have one of those higher thresholds. The thresholds are kept at an appropriate level to support small businesses by reducing administrative burden, but also not to cause competitive distortions or undermine tax compliance. The VAT directive provides that member states may fix varying thresholds for different business sectors based on objective criteria. A separate threshold cannot be set for self-employed people, SMEs or family-run businesses, as an example. Thresholds must be sector-based and not based on the type of business structure. As a result, a review of the registration threshold for the self-employed is not proposed. Budget 2026 tried to take a number of measures to assist small and medium businesses in light of the action plan on competitiveness and productivity, and the programme for Government commitments. The programme for Government commits to implementing a pro-enterprise tax policy over the course of the term. This includes commitments to deliver change to hospitality, to examine further tax credit supports for R and D and innovation, and to continue to review and simplify existing enterprise reliefs. I believe budget 2026 makes some progress in this regard. The question is why there is a different threshold for goods and services. Ireland's VAT legislation applies different registration thresholds to the supply of goods and services. The rationale for this relates to the difference in the nature of the two supplies. In general, the value added on the supply of goods is much smaller relative to turnover compared to the supply of services, where the value added reflects the direct input of the business proprietor or staff, along with the cost of indirect inputs, such as parts. We keep both of these threshold levels under review and will continue to do so in the forthcoming budget.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I thank the Deputies for their questions. To recap my position, I have tried to outline why, to date, there has always been a policy differential in the threshold for goods and services. There is some validity to that. The Deputy is right that there are some European countries that might have a higher threshold than Ireland, but Ireland certainly has one of the higher thresholds, so we are certainly at the upper end in Europe. I am quite comfortable with that, by the way, as I think it ensures we are exempting small businesses from that administrative burden. The Deputy did not ask directly, but I want to put this on the record of the House because it is useful for the Deputy’s work. If we were to increase the €42,500 to €85,000 for services and, in other words, equalise it, this would cost in the region of €100 million. At this stage, it is useful to put that out there. We cannot differentiate between the self-employed and the family-run. I am not saying that is what Deputy Heneghan is looking for me to do, but I know what he is looking for me to do, which is to better support them. We want to do that. We can differentiate between the sectors but we cannot differentiate between ownership types. I will keep under review for forthcoming budgets the broader point that Deputy Heneghan makes. We have taken some actions in this budget to try to assist small and medium businesses. Deputy Conway-Walsh referenced the selling of scones. I am very proud of the reduction that we are making to VAT in the hospitality sector, although some are not. I think it is going to make a big difference to people because it is effectively reducing the cost of running a café, a restaurant or a pub that serves lunch. At a time when there is so much external pressure on the Irish and European economy, it is prudent to try to support jobs and those who create the jobs in that sector. We have also made changes to the R and D tax credit. That is often talked about as an FDI initiative and foreign direct investment benefits from it. Interestingly, the larger number of applications for it are from Irish companies, many of which are SMEs and microenterprises. We need to get more information out about that to further encourage the uptake. I will reflect on what both Deputies have said.
Sentiment score: 0.29
I was checking the figure on the R and D tax credit while the two Deputies were speaking. Some 87.5% of claimants of the R and D tax credit are SMEs, so while the greater quantum is claimed by FDI because of the size of FDI, the overwhelming number of applications is coming from SMEs. That shows it is working and has the potential to work even better. I would make the point that we raised the thresholds in the Finance Act 2024. Both Deputies made the point but, in the past, we have done that. Of course, there are issues that can be considered in future budgets. Both Deputies will understand that I have been Minister for Finance for a couple of weeks and that we have yet to pass the Finance Bill for this year's budget. I am not going to speculate on what will potentially be in the next one, other than to say that we can have useful debates and discussions and tease through these issues over the course of the year in the House, at committees and through parliamentary question sessions and the like, in advance of future budgets. We all want to pursue pro-enterprise policies. We have to back indigenous business. We have to continue to make our economy competitive and make it a good place to invest. We are reliant on FDI for many reasons, and those companies also benefit from being located here. However, the backbone of the Irish company has always been our indigenous industry. We all need to work together to see how we can best support that. On the wage subsidy scheme more broadly, I am conscious that the Chair of the Oireachtas social protection committee, Deputy John Paul O’Shea, is the Acting Chair. We have published the new national disability strategy and the human rights strategy. There is a real focus in that strategy, rightly, on employment for people with disabilities. The first meeting of the oversight group was yesterday. Deputy Heneghan's PA, Michael Reynolds, does an excellent job. I am sure good work could be done through the Oireachtas committees and through that new strategy on how we help more people with a disability to get into the workforce and how we help more businesses to hire and employ people with a disability who can make a very good contribution to their businesses. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to link with the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I thank the Deputy. I have heard him speak in this House passionately about lots of things, including the issue of dereliction in recent times. Dereliction during a housing emergency is a particular challenge as something that should be almost socially unacceptable. We have an emergency. All of us recognise that. We have different views on how best to tackle it, but tackling dereliction needs to be an important part of that. I have to be honest, as I was during earlier question replies. There is quite a significant piece of work to do to move from a derelict levy collected by the local authorities - I am not in any way having a go at them; they do a good job - to a consistent national tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners. The benefit of announcing the tax in the budget a couple of months ago was that we all want this tax to act effectively as something to change behaviour. We are not actually looking for this tax to collect loads of money; we are looking for it to send out a very clear message that if you are sitting on a derelict property in a housing emergency, we are going to tax you. It is not just that we are going to tax you; it is also that Revenue will collect the tax. People know Revenue is very good at collecting tax. That there is a benefit in making it very clear - as my predecessor, Pascal Donohoe, did - that there will be a derelict tax that will be collected not by the local authorities but by the Revenue Commissioners is important. We will have to do quite a few things, being honest, to get this ready. I have spoken briefly to the chairman of the Revenue Commissioners on this matter, and I will be speaking to him more substantively soon, but I know Revenue is gearing up for this. My officials have had lots of significant engagement with Revenue. The big piece of work to be done here is that we will have to legislate in this House for it and we plan on doing that in 2026. I will bring forward legislation and I look forward to debating the design and structure of that tax then. We have not set a rate for it. I will say in the House this evening that it certainly will not be lower than the 7% that is currently charged as the dereliction levy. The local authorities have a piece of work to do as well in mapping out and identifying all of the derelict properties and ensuring that is done in a consistent manner regardless of whether one lives in Cork or Wicklow. Otherwise the tax would not be sound, quite frankly. There is a big body of work to be done. I want to see the tax introduced as quickly as possible, but we will not be in a position to collect this tax in 2026. I would be misleading if I suggested otherwise but we can get a lot done in 2026.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I enjoy these rare moments of agreement between Deputy Gould and me. He often shouts at me from the other side of the House and the odd time I shout back as well. As we come up to the Christmas period, it is nice to have a rare moment of harmony so let us cherish that. We are having this rare moment of harmony because we both recognise that dereliction is a real scourge. Deputy Nash made this point earlier from a public health point of view, a safety point of view and the point of view of a sense of community, but the housing emergency also puts an acuity on it. I want to do this as quickly as possible. I do not want to mislead the Deputy or the House on it. I take the Deputy's point and accept his bona fides when he asks if we can start with a certain group. The truth is that once we introduce a national tax, we cannot start anywhere; we have to start everywhere. It is no different with the movement from the current levy to the new tax. It has to be consistent and applied without fear or favour, no matter where the property is located in Ireland and no matter which local authority area is involved at present. This is a big body of work for the local authorities. I will help and support them, as will the Government, in undertaking this. I will visit Cork City Council, on the invitation of its chief executive, in January. I am sure we will have a chance to discuss dereliction and other issues. We will do this as quickly as possibly but the plan is to legislate in 2026 and we can tease through all of these issues in the course of the legislation.
Sentiment score: 0.16
The point Deputy Gould makes about what is derelict, and getting all of that right and underpinning it in legislation, is exactly what we will have to do when we are bringing the legislation through this House. The Deputy is right when he says that it cannot be just a lick of paint or somebody pretending to resolve the dereliction. We all have to be serious about this. We can debate the structure and composition of the tax - all that sort of stuff, including some of the questions the Deputy asked - during the course of the debates on the legislation. We all agree that we do not want this tax to be something that brings in loads of money. We want it to be something that changes behaviour. Quite frankly, we want the financial penalty of having to pay the tax to be something that moves the dial. That is the aim. It is a bit like the residential zoned land tax we were discussing earlier. I am kind of pleased we held our nerve, as a Government and as an Oireachtas, in relation to the residential zoned land tax. There were teething issues. We all heard from farmers with legitimate issues. The fundamental idea is that it is not for farmers, who are not landlords at all. If someone is sitting on land and hoarding it and it is in a residential zone, they are meant to be building houses on it. Their options are to build houses on the land, sell the land to someone else who will build houses on it, or pay a tax. There is a housing emergency. The residential zoned land tax is in place. We are moving from a levy which is inconsistent, and even the best local authorities have challenges in collecting it, to a tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank Deputy Butterly for her kind words and I look forward to working with her, as we already do on many issues. The living cities initiative is a targeted measure which is aimed at specific areas in need of regeneration. It currently offers income or corporation tax relief for qualifying expenditure incurred in the refurbishment and conversion of qualifying residential and commercial buildings located within special regeneration areas of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford. The recent budget announced a number of enhancements to the living cities initiative to strengthen the scheme, with such changes included in the Finance Bill which has gone through this House and is now progressing through the Seanad. It was announced, much to the Deputy's delight and the delight of her constituents, I am sure, that the living cities initiative would be extended to five regional centres as set out in the national planning framework: Athlone, Drogheda, Dundalk, Letterkenny and Sligo. The Finance Bill also creates a new category of relief which will apply to the part or full conversion of commercial premises, shops, buildings, etc., into residential premises. Importantly, the building age rule will not apply to such conversions. It is about trying to make it as easy as possible to get above the shop space or derelict commercial space back into use as well. The specific cities and towns in which special regeneration areas may be located are not specified in primary legislation - they never are. The existing areas were designated following consultation with the relevant city councils and an independent review by a third-party adviser. Specific criteria were set down in respect of the areas which should be included within the remit of the living cities initiative which were required to be taken into account by the relevant councils when putting forward the proposed area for each city. For the scheme to start to apply in the five new towns, including Dundalk and Drogheda, special regeneration areas in each town must first be identified and designated by statutory order made by me in accordance with powers already provided for in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The designation of the new special regeneration areas will require careful planning and preparation in consultation with the relevant local authorities. I intend to ensure that we write to the local authorities this week and ask them to return their draft maps by the end of January. I would expect the mapping process to be completed by the end of quarter 1, with applications to open by June at the latest. I hope this will be good news to people in Dundalk and Drogheda.
Sentiment score: 0.44
There is so much potential in the M1 corridor, that north-east economic area. The announcement of the partnership between Dundalk Institute of Technology, DKIT, and Queen's University Belfast has the potential to be transformational. I really believe that. Coupled with the living cities initiative, that will bring much-needed Government support through the tax system to Dundalk and Drogheda to tackle vacancy and dereliction. It will be welcome. We designate the areas - the maps - in consultation with the local authority. I am pleased to hear and know of their enthusiasm in Louth County Council. They are ready to do this. We will write to the authorities this week formally asking them to get their maps in by the end of next month. We will then have an independent third-party assessor. That is important for the integrity of the scheme. We did that previously. I would like to get the mapping process done by the end of quarter 1 and I would like applications to be able to be received over the summer period, from Dundalk and from Drogheda. I say that in the hope that the communities, the local authorities and everyone can begin to prepare for that reality.
Sentiment score: 0.26
Deputy Neville is right. We have to be willing to look at every possible way to help tackle vacancy and dereliction but also to bring back vibrancy in towns, including towns that are not classified as older towns but are vibrant and growing and often have other challenges such as the population growing so fast and keeping up in terms of the infrastructure. The Deputy regularly keeps me on my toes in this House on the infrastructural needs of Kildare. There are some supports such as the vacant premises refurbishment grant that is in place nationwide and is having real benefits in getting premises back into use. Deputy Butterly is right that safety is a big issue. If we can get town centres with people living over the shop again, with no derelict buildings and either new businesses open or premises that will not open being converted into homes in a housing emergency, this is what it should be about. How do we recreate? What is the new main street or new town centre looking like? I am really excited. There are real benefits to Louth in this, to Dundalk and Drogheda. Not only have we extended the scheme to the five new areas under the national planning framework, including Dundalk and Drogheda, we have also improved the scheme. I encourage everybody to look at the improvements we have made to the scheme, including the new living over the shop element.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I thank Deputy Neville for the good wishes. I look forward to working with the Deputy on all things Kildare and all things national in this role, as we do already. I thank the Deputy for this question in what is an important and growing sector of the Irish economy. The EU legislation which governs the harmonisation of taxes on alcohol across the Union allows member states to offer certain excise relief to independent small breweries. Under Article 4 of the alcohol structures directive, member states may provide relief of up to 50% of their standard excise rate on beer produced by qualifying microbreweries in the EU. Where a member state provides such relief, the member state must also provide the relief to any qualifying microbrewery supplying that market but which produces its beer in another member state or in Northern Ireland. Ireland has implemented the excise relief for microbrewers of beer since 2005. Under Irish law, a microbrewery can qualify for relief if it produces up to 75,000 hl per annum, or 7.5 million litres, in the EU. Relief is available on up to 30,000 hl, or 3 million litres, produced by a qualifying microbrewery. The relief is granted at a rate of 50% of the standard Irish excise rate on beer. This means that the excise on relieved beer produced by a qualifying microbrewery is €11.27 per hectolitre per cent of alcohol instead of the standard rate of €22.55 per hectolitre per cent of alcohol. Two or more breweries working together with a licence, franchise, contract or other co-operation arrangement in place are permitted to avail of the relief if their joint production is up to 150,000 hl per annum. The excise relief of 50% is at the maximum permitted under the alcohol structures directive. Any change to increase the volume of beer subject to the excise relief would require legislative amendment. Policy considerations would include the impact on the overall cost of the relief and the fact that the measure would narrow the tax base. Also, the relief is not limited to Irish producers only so changing its availability would not solely benefit producers located within the State. EU-based microbreweries exporting beer into the State could be significant beneficiaries of any expansion to the volume threshold. However, we produce tax strategy group papers each year. On foot of the Deputy raising this issue, the prudent and sensible thing to do is keep the operation of the microbrewery relief scheme under review annually as part of the budgetary cycle and in the tax strategy group papers in advance of the next budget.
Sentiment score: 0.46
That is a fair point. I will provide some figures which might be useful. I can send them on in tabular form to the Deputy with more detail. Since 2021, the amount of relief claimed by way of remittance is around €7 million to €8 million per annum. Most claimants are understood to opt for remission. In terms of claims made each year, there are around 70 to 90. To give an example, in 2024, the most recent year I have full figures for, the number of relief claims was 80. There were 74 in 2025 up to 31 August. We introduced the relief in 2005. We made changes in budget 2015 in the qualifying production threshold and the quantity on which the relief may be claimed was increased. In budget 2016, a measure was introduced by which claimants can opt to receive relief by way of remission as well as repayment. We took more measures in budgets 2017, 2020, 2023 and in budget 2025 we extended the relief to include high-strength cider and other fermented beverages other than cider and perry. We continue to keep this under review. It is a growing and an important sector of the Irish economy.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I thank Deputy Butterly. I am happy to take that opportunity. I will ask the Ministers for agriculture and enterprise to engage with her in relation to that. The ideal is an ecosystem that works for everyone but I do not profess to be extraordinarily knowledgeable on this. I would welcome that because tillage is a sector we want and need to support. It is one of the sectors, from an agricultural point of view, that aligns very much with our climate objectives. We have clear commitment in wanting to grow the amount of tillage farming in this country but it is a sector that often finds itself under pressure. I would welcome that conversation too. I agree with Deputy Neville. Not only is this an important, direct benefit to the Irish economy in producing Irish products we sell here and abroad, we have to support people in selling it abroad in a challenging environment. That is why the Minister for enterprise and I launched the action plan on market diversification. It has also now become a tourism product. Lots of distilleries have tourism experiences which bring people into our towns. I am committed to working with people on this. I am proud of the measures we have put in place. The tax strategy group papers are an important place to continue to monitor this matter in advance of future budgets.
Sentiment score: 0.32
That gave me an awful wake-up call. I had not thought of it like that but it is factually correct. I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil for raising this question. Future Forty is a really important piece of work. I can say that because I had nothing to do with it. It happened before I was in the Department of Finance. Huge credit is owed to the officials in the Department of Finance, the chief economist John McCarthy and others, who worked very hard on this. We are often accused in politics, sometimes with legitimacy and sometimes not, of short-termism. Nobody can suggest there is anything short term about publishing a plan as to where Ireland will be not in five, ten or 15 years but in 40 years. That is the exact sort of big thinking and analysis one would expect a Department of Finance which has responsibility for economic policy to do. It is not a modern version of Mystic Meg; all it can do is look at various scenarios and, of course, scenarios can change depending on the policies we pursue. I say daily and will say again tonight that while it looks out to 40 years, it basically tells us there is a window of about a decade to put in place policies to mitigate against some of the challenges we may face in demographic change and slower economic growth, potentially, but also to look at the opportunities and how we can best harness them. Future Forty was published earlier this month. It explores the key drivers of Ireland’s economy and public finances over the next forty years, on a no-policy change basis which of course is not what is going to happen because we will have lots of policies during that time from this Government and future Governments. It examines the long-term economic and fiscal impacts of global megatrends and other structural shifts including climate change, demographics, housing, healthcare, digitalisation, deglobalisation and potential EU expansion. The report presents a central scenario for our population, economy and public finances but also examines over 2,000 alternative scenarios using differing assumptions. It does not identify which scenario is most likely to occur but there are clear patterns which emerge across all trends and projections. I say to everybody in public policy - the Government, Opposition, Government Department and State agencies - that this is a tool for all of us to use to inform evidence-based policy.
Sentiment score: 0.11
The Deputy is correct. Future Forty does highlight that expenditure related to demographic ageing is expected to grow substantially in the coming decades. Healthcare, long-term care and pensions are expected to take up an increasingly larger amount of the Government's budget. Mitigation of the ageing costs will depend on improving efficiencies and ultimately boosting productivity in public services, including by integrating innovative medical technologies into our health system. Encouraging healthy living can help to keep costs manageable in the long run, too. Future Forty projects that climate costs will rise rapidly due to both Iong-run climatic changes and the increased frequency of extreme weather events. Although there is considerable uncertainty about the future cost of climate change, Ireland must prepare in advance to lower adaptation costs in the future. Additionally, I point to the cost of servicing our national debt. While this might appear relatively minor at present, Future Forty points to its becoming a growing burden if deficit and debt are used to cover rising costs elsewhere. Future Forty outlines hypothetical issues. Of course, there are also positive outcomes and opportunities. The decision on automatic enrolment, as the Deputy rightly said, is one whose immediate benefit people will not see in the short term, but they absolutely will see it in the future when they retire with better pensions.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I agree with Deputy Neville on the importance of continuing to run budget surpluses and invest in our Future Ireland Funds – the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund – and the importance of continuing to be prudent in our spending of public money. That is why the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, and I will bring to the Cabinet next week the medium-term fiscal framework, which will anchor our spending and tax plans not just for a year but also for the five years ahead. That is important for guarding our economy and for planning the delivery of public services that we get on with implementing the programme for Government. I agree with Deputy Ó Cearúil on the use of technology, including AI. I am aware that the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, is very strong on this. He has introduced a plan on digital services and the use of digital technology in the public service. Of course, there have to be guardrails and all of that. AI is not going away, as has been said. It is actually a tool that can be used for good, subject to having a proper system of safeguards in place, including in the area of speeding up assessment times. Let us consider the progress we have been able to make using technology for passports. When we read Future Forty, as the Deputy has done, we see that the use of technology to increase productivity is a key component in addressing some of the challenges we will face in the time ahead and ensuring the costs of the delivery of public services will remain manageable.
Sentiment score: 0.32
I thank the Deputy for this question, in which he has rightly asked me to outline the progress that has been made in divesting State moneys from companies that derive profits from their activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Government is clear in its opposition to illegal Israeli settlements, which are contrary to international law and damaging to the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. Ireland has not been found wanting in its support of the Palestinian people and has taken practical steps at national, EU and international levels. Indeed, we have been recognised internationally as a leading voice on this. Ireland has provided over €100 million in support of the people of Palestine since 2023. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, has complete independence in implementing its investment strategy under the NTMA Acts through an investment committee that reports to the NTMA's board. ISIF has taken a decision to divest from six companies, all of which remain on the updated UN database. While divestment from these companies does not mean that Israel will stop maintaining its presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, sadly, ISIF will continue to monitor its investments. It is important to state the companies are ones that operate all over the world. ISIF's investment in them represents a very small proportion of its overall investments. More broadly, as the Deputy knows, efforts to secure a just resolution to the Israel–Palestine conflict and to the genocidal activity taking place in Palestine are ongoing. Our focus must remain on strengthening the ceasefire and bringing about peace. ISIF has taken a decision to divest from six companies, all of which remain on the updated UN database and with a total value at the time of divestment of approximately €2.95 million. The six companies are Bank Hapoalim BM, Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM, Israel Discount Bank Ltd., Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank Ltd., First International Bank Ltd. and Rami Levi Chain Stores Ltd. I will provide the Deputy with the list in writing. ISIF does not comment on individual investments but a list of ISIF investments is available in the 2024 NTMA annual report. I have been informed that ISIF will continue to monitor its holdings to ensure investments remain aligned with its risk profile and investment parameters, but it does not comment on individual investments. I am due to meet officials from the NTMA shortly.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I will discuss and get an overview on a variety of issues with the NTMA at a first sit-down meeting. ISIF has divested from six companies on the UN database. The NTMA also divested from directly held sovereign bond holdings with a global portfolio across Egypt, Israel and Jordan in July 2025. It is important to note, as my notes suggest, that companies can come onto and off the UN database. Many of these companies are large, global companies. There needs to be that context too. These are large, global companies which can have a presence right across the world. Ireland's position on the occupied Palestinian territories has been clear and consistent in relation to their illegality. ISIF obviously has independence in relation to its investment strategy. That is not just independence that I say but independence under the law of the land, the NTMA Act, and under the investment committee that reports to the NTMA.
Sentiment score: 0.06
When the Deputy uses words like "any other decent Irish person", I am not sure whether he is trying to suggest that we are indecent or to vilify.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I am wondering because the Deputy uses these loaded comments to suggest that he is decent and we are not.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Do not shout me down. I do not know how long this bully-boy routine of shouting me down is going to go on but if the Deputy could just ask me a question and allow me to answer it, it is how a democracy works. Stop shouting me down. It is a bit of basic respect.
Sentiment score: 0.13
The Deputy has been at this a long time. He knows the law of the land under the NTMA Act. Does he accept that the NTMA Act allows ISIF full independence in relation to its investment decisions? Does the Deputy accept that the Minister for Finance-----
Sentiment score: 0.19
No, I am sorry, I am speaking. Then I will sit down and the Deputy can speak.
Sentiment score: -0.18
I am asking them rhetorically of the Chair.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Does Dáil Éireann understand that under the NTMA Acts, the investment decisions of ISIF are completely and utterly independent? Deputy Doherty tried to do this to my predecessor, suggesting that he was making decisions in relation to it. It was not true then and it is not going to be true now. The Deputy is not going to do it to me. If the Deputy wants to bring forward legislative proposals to change things, bring them forward.
Sentiment score: -0.11
We can have the discussion. The Deputy is asking me in parliamentary question time. The second point I want to make, amidst the heckling on a serious issue, is that I do not need to be lectured on how to support the people of Palestine. Ask the Palestinian President, Prime Minister or ambassador how they have found our levels of support. I do not need a lecture from the Deputy. Is it his position that ISIF should not have any ability to invest in massive global companies that have presence right across the world, in many countries, including European countries, some which might even have headquarters in Ireland, if they have a presence in-----
Sentiment score: 0.09
Is that the Deputy's position? That raises very serious questions.
Sentiment score: -0.08
The consequences of that are very significant.
Sentiment score: 0.27
The Deputy misses Paschal.
Sentiment score: -0.23