Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have no problem with the inclusion of the three agencies in Schedule 4 to the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, but why is the tax status of Enterprise Ireland being backdated to 23 July 1998? This measure exempts State bodies from taxation and we are backdating it by 20 years. Moreover, why were the agencies not added to the Schedule before now? Why were they not added by way of a statutory instrument, as has been done in the case of other agencies? My concern is that one of the conditions of section 227 of the Taxes consolidation Act 1997 is that if a non-commercial State body has paid income tax, it is not entitled to claim it back when it is added to the list. Is that why this measure is being backdated by 20 years?