Simon Harris

Budget 2027 would contain an energy package, including measures to help households through the coming winter.

There was significant merit in examining a windfall tax on energy companies.

I know you like to blame me for everything, but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a stretch.

Certainty for the winter period on excise is something that we can do and something that we will do.

It's [the crisis] not by any decision taken in Dáil Eireann, it's because the Strait of Hormuz is closed. It's because there's been the bombing of Iran. You or I didn't take a decision, let's not blow up the egos of people in this House.

We want to help workers who get up early, but also who get up and work nights too

The move was a common-sense decision which gives households and businesses greater certainty.

The Government is "carefully" monitoring the global energy crisis and that any other suggestion is "dishonest politics".

Capital markets should not feel remote or like something that is only for people with significant wealth or financial expertise.

For people who decide that investing is right for them, I want to make sure they have a simple and accessible way to do so.

We have comparatively low levels of direct retail investment, and as such people are not getting the benefits of greater returns.

Irish people work hard for their money and we are determined to make sure their money can work harder for them, and I look forward to setting out more detail in the Budget on October 6.

What we have outlined in recent months is about making investing more accessible for ordinary families, not just the wealthy, bringing Ireland closer in line with European peers who have structures that help people make their money work…

Our proposal is about giving everyone a simple and accessible way to grow their savings, making them more financially resilient and allow them to plan for a rainy day or other significant events like buying a home or supporting their…

But we cannot take that success for granted. Technology is transforming financial services, competition for investment is intensifying and the global environment is changing rapidly.

Our ambition now is to build on that success and grow employment to 70,000 by 2030, with one in four of those jobs located in the regions.

International financial services are a major Irish success story. Employment in the sector has grown from around 35,000 when I launched IFS2020 in 2015 to more than 60,000 today.

Carbon tax was brought about... and the trajectory was set before there was a war in Ukraine, before there was the situation in the Middle East.

We obviously have the fuel allowance scheme, which more people than ever before benefit from this season, which will recommence again shortly.

You can see how quickly the global environment can change in four to six weeks. So we have to be humble, agile, and nimble enough to respond to things.

I don't want the conversation to stop there.

I think there should be a mechanism found here that can move this issue forward.

We are now seeing almost a breakdown of authority or any respect for authority in society.

We will continue to pursue organised criminals, protect our financial system and safeguard Ireland’s reputation as one of the safest and most trusted places in Europe to live, work and do business.

Today’s launch sends a clear message: Ireland will not be a safe place to launder criminal proceeds.