Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This question refers to amendments Nos. 9 and 10, which I know were ruled out of order but we can speak about the general issue. They sought to undo two of the enhancements to SARP provided for in the section. Amendment No. 10 would retain the current upper income threshold of €500,000, which we have discussed already, while amendment No. 9 would retain the current requirement for an individual to have been a full-time employee for 12 months prior to his or her arrival in Ireland. The latter change was made to align the changes made in the Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014 published by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The Act provides for a new category of employment permit, an intra-company transfer employment permit, which allows for the temporary transfer of employees between affiliated foreign and Irish companies. Under the terms of this permit, an employee must have been employed by the employer for a minimum of six months. As we are trying to attract people here, this measure is to ensure the permit situation is aligned with the tax situation. It aligns SARP with the Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014.