Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Scrutiny of Tax Expenditures: Discussion

Mr. Joe Cullen:

The reliefs the Deputy mentioned just before finishing no longer apply, but the way in which they were designed allowed carry forward from year to year, and there are still legacy costs associated with them. It is from some of the lessons we learned from the experience of some of the reliefs the Deputy mentioned that we now have a set of tax expenditure guidelines with very clear principles and a very clear framework as to the steps and measures that should apply. As we go forward I do not think we will see the type of arrangement that existed ten years ago or more, but there are legacy features of those reliefs which continue to apply even today. This is a learning process and we continue to improve each year as we move forward.