This week we look at the progress on Ireland’s Action Plan for Insurance Reform, the launch of Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the UK government’s ‘New Chapter for Financial Services’ which includes plans for becoming a world leader in green finance. We also look at Great Britain’s plans to eliminate coal from power generation and Ireland’s Exchequer figures show robust tax receipts which according to Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will aid a confident recovery from the current pandemic.
Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy launched
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy yesterday launched Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy – AI Here for Good. The strategy serves as a roadmap for how Ireland can leverage AI's potential for unlocking productivity, addressing societal challenges and delivering public services.
AI refers to machine-based systems that can make predictions, recommendations or decisions using data, essentially copying the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of the human mind.
The strategy acknowledges the wide-ranging effect AI will have on our lives and considers AI from a number of perspectives:
-
Building public trust in AI
-
Leveraging AI for economic and societal benefit
-
Identifying enablers for AI including a strong AI innovation ecosystem, AI education, skills and talent, as well as a supportive and secure infrastructure
A theme that runs through the entire strategy is the Government’s commitment to an ethical approach to AI and to the secure use of AI and other digital technologies.
Ireland's Action Plan for Insurance Reform –progress report
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar this week issued a 6-month progress report on the commitments made under Ireland’s Action Plan for Insurance Reform . The plan, launched in December 2020, aims to bring down the cost and increasing the availability of insurance for drivers, homeowners, businesses, and voluntary groups.
Contained within the plan are 66 actions to deliver on commitments made under the Programme for Government. Of these 66 areas, 34 have been completed and 21 have been scheduled to complete in 2021.
The Personal Injuries Guidelines were introduced and adopted on 24 April 2021 and according to Minister of Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister of State Seán Fleming “significantly reduce(s) personal injury awards by both the judiciary and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
Preliminary data from PIAB indicates that the average award has decreased by approximately 50%. 78% of PIAB awards are now €15,000 or less compared to 30% in 2020
Later this year, the Government plans to introduce new legislation to further strengthen the PIAB as well as the Consumer Protection Commission.
Exchequer figures show deficit of over €12 billion, but tax receipts remain strong
Figures to end of June 2021 show an exchequer deficit of €5,300 million was recorded. This compares to a deficit of €5,331 million in the same period last year. The 12-month rolling Exchequer deficit which is a better trend indicator is €12,285 million.
Tax revenues remained robust with the Exchequer recording €29.5 billion for the first six months of the year, which were €1.5 billion (5%) higher than profiled and €2.6 billion up on the same period last year.
Income tax, VAT and Corporation tax receipts were all ahead of profile, with the VAT figures reflecting a recovery in consumer spending. Total gross voted expenditure to the end of June amounted to €39.9 billion which was over 4 percent below profile.
Commenting on the focus of comparisons to profile rather than year-on-year comparisons, the press release accompanying stated:
“Given the timings of various periods of restrictions last year and the unprecedented nature of the impact of the pandemic, year-on-year comparisons are of limited value and may give a misleading impression of tax revenue performance. As such, a much better guide to tax outturn in 2021 is the comparison vs profile.”
Commenting on the figures, the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe T.D. said:
“Although we continue to borrow significant amounts of money in order to fight the pandemic, tax receipts to end-June show that we can look forward to the recovery with confidence. Income taxes and VAT, in particular, remain robust as businesses and consumers have shown remarkable adaptability and resilience. Despite continuing uncertainty, today’s figures show that we can look forward to a sustainable and broad-based recovery.”
New Chapter for Financial Services includes green finance objectives
The UK’s Chancellor Rishi Sunak has published a
roadmap for how the UK government will ensure the future competitiveness of the UK financial services sector. Speaking at London’s Mansion House, Chancellor Sunak set out plans to make the UK “the world’s most advanced and exciting financial services hub,” and outlined plans ranging from reforming capital markets and seeking closer links with advanced and emerging financial centres, to becoming a world leader in green finance and boosting opportunities for green investment.
Plans include:
-
legislating to deliver new integrated Sustainability Disclosure Requirements which will bring together, streamline existing climate reporting requirements, and require companies, pension schemes, financial services firms, and their investment products to report on the impact they are having on the climate and environment - as well as the risks and opportunities facing their business. This will ensure consumers and investors have the information they need to make informed investment decisions and drive positive environmental impact. (The Government’s approach to green finance regulation will be announced ahead of COP26 November 2021)
-
working with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a new sustainable investment label – “a quality stamp” – to allow consumers to compare the impacts and sustainability of their investments
-
the UK’s first ever sovereign green bond, known as a ‘green gilt’ with at least £15 billion of green gilts to be issued in this fiscal year alone
-
a green savings bond offered via National Savings and Investments (NS&I)
-
green projects like zero-emissions buses, offshore wind, and schemes to decarbonise homes and buildings.
The
UK Government Green Financing Framework details how the ‘green gilt’ will finance projects to tackle climate change and other environmental challenges while creating green jobs across the UK. The inaugural green gilt will be issued in September 2021, subject to market conditions.
End to coal power brought forward
The deadline to phase out coal from Great Britain’s energy system has been brought forward by one year to October 2024. From that date, Great Britain will no longer use coal to generate electricity. Coal is one of the most carbon intensive fossil fuels and phasing it out completely by October 2024 will mean that Great Britain will have reduced its reliance on coal for electricity from around a third to zero.
The move is a key step in the UK government’s plans to build back greener by decarbonising the power sector and eliminate the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050. Read more on GOV.uk.
In Northern Ireland, coal continues to be used for electricity generation, with one third of the 1,500 million tonnes of coal and other solid fuels imported into the region being used to generate power. While coal used for energy production has been falling gradually, in 2020, the amount of coal imported for electricity generation (522 million tonnes) was slightly higher than 2019 records (460 million tonnes).
LOADING...