Mr. Joe O'Connor:

On the question of costings, the most this ever cost the State was €26.6 million in 2008. The following year, which is the final year for which records exist, it cost €26 million. That was on the basis that, even at its height, this relief was only claimed by approximately two thirds of trade union members across the country. One third of trade union members did not actually claim the relief. The estimate the Deputy is referring to comes from a Revenue estimate based on a 100% uptake of this relief by trade union members. We do not dispute those figures. The likelihood is that, given the fact that since the relief was ended in 2011 a number of trade union members on lower incomes have come in and people on higher incomes have retired, we believe it would cost slightly less. However, it will cost approximately that figure to reintroduce it.