Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We can dice up the figures however we want. These 302 employees are getting €20,000 in tax relief that is available to them and not to any Irish citizen. That is the key point. There is a €20,000 reduction in tax on average and each of these people has to be earning in excess of €75,000. We know the rules of SARP. They are that 30% of a person's income between €75,000 and €500,000 is disregarded for income tax purposes. We do not have the individual details but some of these individuals could get a tax cut of €50,000 or €60,000 as a result of it.

We can take the Department at its word in respect of its report. I mentioned what it said, which was that people had fallen into the relief rather than it being a deciding factor in their decision to relocate. Let us think about this. Of course, a key person from a company in the US coming to a company in Ireland when the company decides it wants that person to come over will apply for SARP. Why would they not apply for it? However, the question is whether they would have come over anyway. The survey found that a number of people were going to come over anyway and then availed of SARP when they arrived here. It also makes it clear that there is no measurable evidence that the scheme has resulted in an increase in FDI or a roll out of new projects.

The Minister has provided his own figures regarding how many jobs were created or retained and I accept that the figures are the stated figures. However, he and I know that this is not verified in any way, shape or form. If one looks at the forms that employers have to fill in relating to SARP, one can see that they have to provide the PPS details of the employee, the position within the company and all the other issues because it is not just about tax relief. These individuals are getting relief for flying to and from their country of residence, and tax relief on private tuition for their children. There is a box at the bottom of the form stating how many employees were created in the company as a result of this scheme, excluding the SARP employee, and how many were retained. There is no verification of those figures. If I was the company, I could put ten, 20 or 30 in the box. We do not know if that is the case because Revenue does not verify it. The company does not have provide PPS numbers and company positions for them. I am sure the individuals are there. I am not suggesting that they are not there. The question is whether they are linked to this tax relief in the first place.

This is not a good time to be changing the offer, particularly when we want to attract multinational and financial investment. Hopefully, people, particularly those in London, are looking to relocate to this country as a result of Brexit but the question is whether this scheme is value for money. A scheme involving €6 million being spent on 302 individuals is not value for money.

On Second Stage, I said that there are a lot of tax breaks in the Finance Bill that benefit very few but involve large quantums of money. I would argue that €6 million is better spent in other areas given that there is no independent evidence to show that this scheme is actually creating jobs, investment and new projects. When it was first introduced in 2012, the Government said there was a gap about which the IDA lobbied heavily and that we needed to take these risks. We took the risk. An evaluation was done. It said that there is no evidence to suggest that it is actually working. It is a huge tax relief for these individuals. It is time not to extend the relief but to leave it the way it is. I would like to see the scheme gone but it will operate for another year. During that period, we should carry out a more detailed analysis and look under the bonnet to see if this has really created jobs. What the Minister is asking us to do in this Finance Bill is to extend the scheme to 2020, which it is not something I would or can support.