Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The fact is there are people who are willing to go to extremes to make a statement. While we do not know what is going on in people's heads, there are those who go to certain extremes to make a statement about their dissatisfaction at the way the country is run. While my amendment has been ruled out of order, there are ways in which to generate more income that can relieve the pressure on individuals in certain areas. If €225,000 is the amount which a parent can give to a son or daughter, I suggest the amount be reduced to €187,000. The reason I chose €187,000 is that the average house price in the State is €187,000, therefore it would exempt a father who was transferring a house to a son or daughter in that they would be below the threshold.

We also know that capital acquisitions tax exempts the family home if the person is living in it. We are moving in the right direction but a further move in this direction would bring in a substantial amount of money. As capital acquisitions tax is a wealth tax this is one way we should be looking for additional money. It is a windfall to somebody, it is unearned income and the thresholds are quite generous. Given the current environment and the economic situation, where schemes are being cancelled left, right and centre, whether the motorised transport grant, tax on maternity benefit or the telephone allowance for the elderly, this is an area where we can save money which does not impact on people now as it is a windfall they will get in the future. That €187,000 in category A should be exempt is quite generous. Many of the thresholds, particularly category A, were always linked to property values. In the past this threshold was very high but that reflected the high price of property. I genuinely believe thresholds A, B and C should be reduced further to bring millions of euro into the coffers to provide relief to certain other sectors.