Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the vast majority of what the Minister said. A tax relief introduced at a certain point in time should always be automatically reviewed within a short period, by which I do not mean 25 years. I welcome the Minister's approach of reviewing these reliefs and questioning whether they are still warranted. It is the appropriate approach to take. My concern is that this change was not flagged to the industry. Last night we discussed betting duty at length. It was clearly flagged that there would be some change, given the tax strategy papers, as well as the Minister's comments that the industry needed to pay more. However, this change has come on the sector suddenly. The relief was meant to be temporary, but having been part of the tax code for 25 years, there was probably an expectation that it would not be changed. I am not arguing that it should not be changed; rather, I am questioning whether sections of the industry have involved themselves in the practice of leasing fleets in the belief there would be tax relief. They would have taken the decision on that basis. Of course, we can change, introduce and abolish rates and reliefs at any time - I do not wish to take away from that - but there was a genuine expectation surrounding this relief and a genuine practice was employed as a result. The change is sudden and the Minister has acknowledged that there will be an impact. I am concerned that it will be felt more by smaller operators in rural areas. Should it be implemented now or should there be a delay of one year to give the industry the clear signal that, although it will be part of the finance code, it will take effect from 1 January 2020, as opposed to 1 January 2019? Perhaps there could be a commencement order or something of that nature. Significant concerns have been raised. While these reliefs need to be reviewed, re-evaluated and, where necessary, ended, it is also important that we not do anything that will cause a sudden shock that will not allow the sector to rearrange its operations in order that it can continue to provide services for the tourism industry, to which this sector primarily relates, and employment in many of the more rural parts of the State.