Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I may agree with the Minister on that point. I have spoken to officeholders who would have recounted the same story to me. The issue is transparency. An Oireachtas Member who stays in a hotel can have the full cost of the hotel written off their tax bill, and also have another €3,500 written off. It is not a case that one gets 41% relief; one gets the sum written off the tax bill. In the other situation where one has one's own accommodation, one gets €6,000 written off. It is not transparent and it should not happen in that way. Even if it costs the State more money, officeholders who represent constituencies outside Dublin should have a more transparent system of expenses for their accommodation when they are staying in Dublin. We need transparency.

Imagine if one put a face to the name of an officeholder and the Taoiseach bought a nice property in Shrewsbury Road and had the fees for his architect, agent and solicitor written off his tax bill as a result of this dual abode allowance. He would get another €6,500 every year to maintain that property and he would have the mortgage interest written off his tax bill. That would not be right. I am not suggesting the Taoiseach has done this. I am sure he has not done it, but the provision in our tax code is wrong. The Taoiseach was correct when he said that he would abolish it. The Minister for Finance is correct when he says that one should not be able to claim property tax and water charges, but that ministerial amendment needs to go further. I know the Minister will not do it now but I suggest, and I am sure he would get the backing of his colleagues in Cabinet and the support of the Ministers of State for it, that he introduces a more transparent system so that all Oireachtas Members are in the same system. If officeholders are staying overnight in the capital, they should be entitled to the same level of expenses as other Oireachtas Members. There should be no secret arrangement with the Revenue that allows officeholders to have their tax liability written down.

I have been tracking these figures for many years. There are fewer officeholders claiming this concession than ever before. In the previous Administration, the majority of officeholders were claiming it. In the last tax year, I can only see ten officeholders claiming it. There may be reasons for that. I suggest the Minister needs to go further than what is proposed today.