Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. We are all sympathetic to not disadvantaging small and medium-sized enterprises and people engaged in research and development in those areas. There is a concern about the potential abuse of the research and development tax allowances in general. What if there are disadvantaged small and medium-sized enterprises? Could the provision be more specifically directed at them and not inadvertently give further advantage to larger and very profitable corporations to further reduce their tax liability to a significant extent? Some of us have significant questions on those allowances. Larger corporations seem to have lobbied extensively for changes in allowances which tend to, in the net, benefit them.