Damien English, TD

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, for his presence. A number of key issues raised during the debate on the original Bill are being written into this legislation, mainly in regard to exemptions for the most vulnerable, deferrals for low income households and a reduction of rates for local authorities. I welcome these as improvements to the original Bill introduced last year.

I would like to acknowledge the complex task of establishing a new tax base, one that is sustainable, and one that does not affect our competitiveness and job creation. This particular tax base, in its nature is open to various anomalies, interpretations and exemptions. It requires a substantial amount of logistical and legal expertise that has evidently been applied to both this Bill and the tax as a whole, while at the same time ensuring it is fit for its purpose, which is to fund local services.

Anthony Lawlor, has for some time been calling for the establishment of a Youth Entrepreneurship Fund

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, for his presence. A number of key issues raised during the debate on the original Bill are being written into this legislation, mainly in regard to exemptions for the most vulnerable, deferrals for low income households and a reduction of rates for local authorities. I welcome these as improvements to the original Bill introduced last year.

I would like to acknowledge the complex task of establishing a new tax base, one that is sustainable, and one that does not affect our competitiveness and job creation. This particular tax base, in its nature is open to various anomalies, interpretations and exemptions. It requires a substantial amount of logistical and legal expertise that has evidently been applied to both this Bill and the tax as a whole, while at the same time ensuring it is fit for its purpose, which is to fund local services.

Anthony Lawlor, has for some time been calling for the establishment of a Youth Entrepreneurship Fund

Fine Gael Waterford Deputy, Paudie Coffey, has today (Monday) welcomed the announcement of a further 100 jobs for Waterford city. The jobs are to be created by Eishtec, which is a Waterford based call centre company that was established less than two years and that has grown to a point now where it will employ over 500 people in the city.

Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs today joined Ms. Androulla Vassiliou, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, at the opening of a major EU Youth Conference.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, TD, today (Friday) announced that Worldwide TechServices (WWTS), a leading Global provider of information technology solutions, is to establish a European Headquarters in Limerick with the creation of 62 new high quality jobs. The investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.