Mr. Shay Cody:

On the dead weight argument, after the arrangements were abolished matters were dormant until conversations took place between senior union representatives and then Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, in the lead-up to the 2016 budget. The Ministers agreed to include in the budget a statement that they were going to review the abolition of the relief and have a public consultation in that regard. They indicated they had open minds on the matter. There was then an election and so on. There has since been a retreat from having an open mind to the fairly doctrinaire and dogmatic approach of the relief being dead weight. We could go point out many other tax breaks about which that argument could also be made but they do not seem to be in danger of being abolished.