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

Yes, but Deputy Boyd Barrett is debating the matter as if we were talking about large amounts of money. We brought forward a package of measures in the budget to assist small and medium enterprises and this is one of them. The amount of money involved is quite small. The relief is tied to a maximum of €40,000 in any one year. It is also tied to the number of jobs created. In effect, the relief is €5,000 per job up to a maximum of eight jobs. If a company creates only two jobs, the relief is tied to €10,000.

Deputy Mathews is correct that another way of doing this would be to provide a grant. It is being done as a tax relief. As the purpose of the relief is to create jobs in small and medium enterprises, to introduce uncertainty as to the ongoing availability of the relief after a close-out date would make companies reluctant to take on another person at the end of the scheme. To provide certainty to new companies that they will benefit from the relief on becoming profitable should positively influence their decisions to take on extra staff in the interim. Another job or two will be created in a company as it knows the relief will continue to apply until it is profitable. It is small money but around the edges small money can make a big difference. It is a point many Deputies made earlier in debates on other measures.