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

We have raised some technical and drafting issues with the Commission on the introductory assessment of the country-specific recommendations, CSRs. These include the language on the binding nature of the expenditure ceilings, the timeline for introducing health identifiers, and the purpose of improved data collection in the Courts Service. We expect to see agreement on suitable amendments before the CSRs are finalised.

There were horizontal recommendations to the CSRs. The broadening of the tax base for the property tax was one of these. Twenty-five member states received a recommendation from the Commission on taxation. Similarly to ten other member states, including Germany, France and Italy, Ireland received a recommendation to consider raising revenues through broadening the tax base and to enhance the growth and environmental friendliness of the tax system. It is a general recommendation which the Commission considers applicable to many European countries, including the larger ones such as France and Germany. I have no plans to extend the scope or incidence of the property tax.