Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to express my satisfaction with the events occurring in England today. The state visit is a very happy occasion. It is great that we have arrived at this point.

Farmers face challenges in respect of existing farm tax reliefs. Many of the reliefs are very generous but circumstances can arise where farmers face prohibitive tax bills on the death of a cohabiting sibling, simply because the farm is in the name of that sibling. In some cases, the surviving sibling farmer could be subject to an inheritance tax threshold as low as €30,150, above which he or she would be exposed to a severe tax bill. I would like the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to clarify whether this can be the case. It does not arise in all circumstances. It depends on the means of the surviving sibling.

There is a concern that some people could face a prohibitive tax bill. I ask the Leader to raise the matter with the Minister, to establish whether this can be the case, whether it can be addressed in the context of this year's pre-budget Estimates and, if necessary, that he would come into the House to deal with the matter.

In the recent media blitz by the Minister for Health surrounding the proposed health insurance scheme he said that the current average cost of health insurance is €920. He also said that there is no evidence that costs will be higher under universal health insurance. Let us consider the position in the Dutch system, which the Government wants to emulate in large measure, a family with a combined income of under €50,000 a year paid almost €11,500 in health costs in 2012. Therefore, the Minister's reassurances are not very reassuring. It seems that - at this point in any case - the Minister has not got a clue about the cost and that everything that we have heard is pure speculation. It also seems to me that a Minister who cannot even stick within his own health budget - he called a €200 million HSE budget overrun a great achievement - will not enjoy the confidence of people when he reassures us that the costs are not going to skyrocket. I worry that there will be accountants, actuaries, lawyers, technical consultants involved. I also wonder whether we will have another Irish Water scenario with a gravy train of public money flowing into the pockets of wealthy professionals.