Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. I have come across a situation where people who save money and are frugal with incomes are penalised when they want to help out their family by transferring money to their children, for instance, if their son or daughter is going to build or buy a house and they want to give them a gift or inheritance. Those people have paid tax on that money all their lives and have saved money for a rainy day or to help out their families. However, this money can also be taxed because in Ireland a gift tax exemption can only be €2,500 a year or whatever. What is the best practice in a situation where somebody has worked all his or her life, has been a regular saver and builds up a cash deposit in the bank or whatever, but when that individual tries to access benefits such as the fair deal scheme, which is a nursing home support if people have to go into a nursing home, he or she is penalised, while the person who enjoyed life to the full and did not save any money gets State benefits? Is there a balance to be struck in the context of the taxation of people who save money? Should we not encourage people to save money so that we are not adding to inflation and people just being spendthrifts? I ask for the representatives' views on that.