Parliamentary questions

490. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department is considering any measures to expand investment opportunities in capital markets for the average retail investor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12587/26]

491. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will consider expanding the criteria for help-to-buy in order for more essential workers to have access to the scheme and to settle in the areas they work in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12589/26]

492. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he would consider reviewing the 52% tax rate on short term lets/long term lets, and reducing this rate so as to encourage people to remain in the letting business, and encourage others to get involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12640/26]

493. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the number of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) that have been registered with the Central Bank of Ireland under the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 since its commencement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12645/26]

494. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the number of applications refused or revoked for virtual asset service provider registration under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12646/26]

495. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he is aware of issues faced by business owners in registering with the Revenue Online Service (details supplied); whether he has plans to modernise the system and address these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12739/26]

496. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to confirm that the closed bidding session for PTSB has closed; the number of companies/entities that have expressed an interest in purchasing PTSB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12741/26]

497. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if the State has requested a guarantee from any potential buyer of PTSB that jobs and the branch network will be retained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12742/26]

498. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he as the main shareholder will oppose a sale of PTSB to private equity firm; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12743/26]

499. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he raised the issue of outsourcing and off-shoring of roles in this recent meetings with the CEOs of Bank of Ireland and AIB; if he has concerns about the ability of both pillar banks to address potential cyber issues due to outsourcing and offshoring of roles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12744/26]

500. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will reconvene the Banking Forum; if he will consider a joint initiative with the Minister for Finance in Northern Ireland, to hold a joint banking forum to plan and discuss with relevant stakeholder the future of banking on the Island; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12745/26]

501. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will consider reducing the rate of taxation on rental income as a means of stimulating supply in the rental market (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12760/26]

502. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to clarify tax obligations for a non-EU national working remotely in Ireland for a U.S. employer, including residency and income thresholds. [12787/26]

503. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding services provided by Revenue; if he will liaise with the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in relation to same; if he will request an update from Revenue on the steps they are taking to address issues with service provision; and if he will make a…

280. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance for an update regarding the rent-a-room tax relief (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11287/26]

281. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the expenditure for 2025, and the impact it had on the surplus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11568/26]

282. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the average private motor insurance premium charged to learner drivers in each of the past five years, by age cohort; whether his Department or the Central Bank of Ireland monitors or analyses the impact of age-neutral learner driver pricing models on affordability and proportionality; and if he will make a statement on the matter…

283. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the oversight mechanisms in place within the Central Bank of Ireland to assess whether motor insurance pricing models, particularly those applied to learner drivers, comply with consumer protection principles on fairness, proportionality, and transparency; whether any thematic reviews have been undertaken in this area since 2020; …

284. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the number of motor insurers currently authorised to write private motor insurance in the State; the number of those insurers that actively provide quotations to learner drivers; whether the Central Bank assesses effective market participation where large cohorts of consumers face limited or prohibitively expensive access to cover…

285. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether learner drivers are recognised by his Department or the Central Bank of Ireland as a distinct consumer cohort for the purposes of insurance affordability and access; whether any assessment has been carried out on the societal and economic impact of high learner-driver premiums on families, older first-time drivers, or retu…

286. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether the Central Bank of Ireland requires motor insurers to provide consumers with a clear explanation of the principal factors driving quoted premiums, particularly where exceptionally high premiums are issued to learner drivers; whether any regulatory guidance has been issued in this regard; and if he will make a statement on…

287. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether he has considered introducing additional regulatory safeguards or guidance to ensure learner driver motor insurance premiums are evidence-based, proportionate, and transparent; whether any policy review is planned in conjunction with the Central Bank of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11167/26]

288. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if there is a canteen in his Department headquarters; and if the Minister can provide assurances that all meat sold or provided in that canteen is of Irish origin. [11181/26]

289. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the amount expended by his Department and by each agency for which he is responsible on advertising, promotion, advertising companies and external communications companies or consultants in 2025 and the expected costs for 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11351/26]

290. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether the pension increases payable in respect of former Department of Posts and Telegraphs service under the Eircom superannuation defined benefit pension scheme are classified by his Department as current expenditure or capital expenditure; and the reason such expenditure would be subject to external scrutiny beyond the Depart…