Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It does not apply to REITs. We are working to the OECD standard in terms of how all of this should be treated. When we talked about investment undertakings, that is the point we discussed with Deputy Boyd Barrett. It is not an attempt to make sure that withholding tax will not be liable, we are just ensuring that it is taxed at the appropriate point in so far as the last-man-standing principle is concerned.

In respect of Deputy Donnelly's more general point, I would not regard this as a policy change. It is a policy change in this instance in the context of how we are trying to treat the operation of funds when it comes to property and property-based assets. That is a policy change in terms of introducing this withholding tax because the funds have been used in a way that was not anticipated and there is tax leakage from the Irish State. However, I do not see it as a policy change to take property out of the levying of capital gains tax. That is the intention behind introducing capital gains tax on this fund for the first time. The idea is - and it is a policy decision - that certain funds and investments would be held longer than they were originally intended to be held so that there would be a proper investment. Deputy Donnelly made a comparison in respect of an individual who is buying a property or an apartment. One of the benefits of the fund regime in terms of how it operates is the scale on which a fund can invest and make the type of investment in developments that are needed in an economy. It does not just happen in property but, of course, that is the area to which we are speaking.