Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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-----what the Deputy is saying for a moment, but I will have a look at the advice that was provided over the past number of years and give him a further answer on it. The reason we ended up with this in regard to apartments is because of my view that this should be targeted and not applicable to the entire construction sector.

I found myself shaking my head and then nodding my head at different points in relation to what the Deputy said earlier. Some of the line of thought he has had on this I had myself in trying to adjudicate on what we do. What I am referring to is whether social policy, and the Deputy made the case on this, allows us to move ahead so this is implemented at the point of commencement. That is the point he has been making very clearly. Ultimately, it was not just about the advice - officials give excellent advice but I have to make a decision on it because I am accountable to the committee, the Oireachtas and the country for it - but that the flexibility granted in the parameters of social policy was not sufficient to offset the prerogative that this be fiscally neutral. That fiscal neutrality mandate with regard to VAT made it very clear to me that it has to be made avoidable at the point of sale. I understand the point the Deputy made. I went through this myself. It may surprise him but I do not want to cause dead-weight issues in the use of our country's money.

To answer his question, that in the absence of this kind of legal hierarchy being there, would I then have made it available at the point of commencement? My assessment is I am not sure that I would have. I am concerned that there may well then have been an effect within the market that may well have saved us money fiscally in terms of the alleged dead weight the Deputy referred to, but could have had an effect on how the market is operating over the number of months or longer by which I, in effect, deferred to the operation of this move. I am not sure-----