Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

By Deputy Doherty's own admission, very few people are availing of this measure. He has a point in the sense that there is a loss to the State in terms of taxation paid by that individual if he or she is already resident in the State. However, if such individuals are coming into the State from outside, then there is not a loss to the State. As the Minister pointed out last night, those people who control and influence foreign direct investment are individuals like all of us. They are sitting in a boardroom in the US or in Germany or some other part of the world. They might well be in charge of running a firm in Ireland with the potential to create a high number of jobs. They consider their own personal circumstances when they are making these decisions. Any measure that could attract these individuals to make the decision easier to move to this location has to be positive. I would like to see what it will cost the State if that figure were available.