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

There is. There is a considerable number of small jobs being done. People still paint their houses and refurbish their homes. There is a lot less work being done than there used to be, but there is still work being done. The tax break has to be paid for with someone else's taxes or the taxes paid by the beneficiaries in due course. If the State is providing incentives and there is no additional activity in the construction industry owing to deadweight, it is wasting taxpayers' money. The pitching of the threshold involves a judgment call. It would be a waste of taxpayers' money to give tax incentives for small jobs that would be carried out in any case. Socially, one could have a different argument, but, economically, it does not make sense to incentivise work that is being done in any case. We must have additionality before we have extra jobs or activity in the building industry. The way we have designed the scheme is pretty good.