Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Deputy tabled an amendment that was ruled out of order. There is a briefing note on the matter. We prepared briefing notes on the amendments which had been submitted.

It is only when the Ceann Comhairle's decision is made that we know whether an amendment is in order. My note says the amendment tabled by Deputy Pearse Doherty would limit the carrying forward of unused relief to three years following an initial three-year start-up period. It would mean the relief would have to be used in the first six years of operation of a new business or lost. The difficulty is that a such a limitation would be seen as arbitrary and unfair to companies that take a longer time to become sufficiently profitable to benefit from the measure. It may discourage them from creating employment. It is simply a question of leaving it in place for long enough that it can be written off against profits. There is no advantage to the Exchequer in placing a time limit on the use of the relief and there is no advantage in terms of job creation.