Joe O'Reilly on Finance Bill: Seeks Clarity on Climate, Pensions

At the outset, I want to welcome one of our successful alumni, the Minister, back to the House. And just to comment on the second stage, I want to address a few issues, Minister, that I would like you to respond to in your concluding remarks and bring forward, if possible. I think the infrastructure fund is a very important fund, and I think it's been brought into sharp focus by what's happened in Spain. I know there are particular climatic factors there, but at the same time, it is predicted that in this country, in about 30 to 35 years, that kind of time span, we can expect extraordinarily heavy rain fall in the western section of the country, and a lot of drought and dry weather in the east, which brings into question the need for, obviously, irrigation in the east and flood defences, et cetera, in the west. So I'd like you to comment on where the infrastructure fund is at, and are we, within that, calculating the climate change element there. The Gambling Regulation, since this session of this term began in the Shannon, I have been speaking regularly on the Gambling Regulation Bill, and on the need for its implementation. And I see that the Finance Bill gives effect, gives financial effect the Gambling Regulation Bill. Can you assure the House Minister later that the Gambling Regulator, the Office of the Gambling Regulator, and the entire mechanism there, will be well enough funded to be effective and operative, and to agree to that? I think, and it's an initiative of my constituency colleague, Minister Humphreys, I think the pension auto-enrolment scheme is very revolutionary and radical, and relevant to so many people. So many people have ended up in old age, without proper funds, people don't think in long term, in a lot of cases, and have ended up in a very difficult position financially, by virtue of not having adequate finances and adequate pension. So I think the auto-enrolment scheme to a pension is critical. And while I take my good friend Senator Higgins's point around an ethical investment of those funds, I hope that that would be the case. But leaving that, while that's an important point, of course the real issue here is that we're going to provide the pensions for people who didn't have them in the past, and that people against their own lack of good judgement will be automatically enrolled. I personally agree with the tax exemption in Stardust case, in the case of the Stardust scheme, because that is just, I vividly recall that night myself, and at that time, as it was one of the huge tragedies of our time. And again, in relation to the cervical cheques payments. I'm interested, Minister, just to make the point on the electric vehicles. You might elaborate on what's in the finance bill in relation to electric vehicles. And because the constant thing that I pick up anecdotally, chatting to people, is that there's two issues with electric vehicles. There's the question, or three really, there's the question, they're prohibitively expensive to buy. People are finding them too costly to purchase. Then there's the question of the charging points. And then there's the question of the batteries and the life of the batteries and the cost therein, of having the charging if it's at home and whatever. So I'd like an elaboration on that. But overall, I welcome the income tax provisions and I welcome so many aspects of this finance bill. And I think we'll be supporting the bill. It's progressive and it's an excellent bill. But it is important when you are with us, Minister, and we are discussing it at this stage, that we would get some clarification around some of these points. But all in all, I think the bill is is a very satisfactory culmination of successful management of the economy over a number of years and a very good deployment of that success, those monies now. So on that premise, on that basis, I leave it. And thank you for the opportunity.