Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To answer Deputy Pearse Doherty first, his amendment is to section 28 which gives effect to my announcement on budget day that a full exemption from capital gains tax would be granted on land or buildings acquired between 7 December 2011 and 31 December 2014 and held for a period of four years commencing after they were acquired and ending seven years after that date.

The amendment to section 28 applies to land and buildings. As regards land, the relief makes no distinction as to how the land is being utilised or whether it has development potential. This is in line with the original relief introduced in the Finance Act 2012, which is now section 604A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The legislation was framed in this way because it is not possible to treat one type of land more favourably than another. That is the rationale for my not accepting the Deputy's amendment. I believe this change is justified given the current status of the property market and the need for land to be released for development use. I anticipate that some of this land will be used for residential development. This is a policy change that should be seen in the light of the decision I have made in regard to stamp duty on commercial property. These two measures should be viewed together.

In regard to Deputy McGrath's point, we do not have a register of property to which this might apply but I do have ample indications to show that this does have the potential to stimulate the release of property throughout the course of next year.