Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I shall just speak briefly on this. I have worked as solicitor — not in Walkinstown, I should say. In the relatively small number of commercial transactions I have been involved in, an inordinate amount of time was spent on VAT on property. It raises costs and wastes too much time. Although not specifically mentioned in the Budget Statement, the proposed new regime that will be in the Finance Act is part of the budget documentation and, as such, it is appropriate to comment. I cannot say I fully understood the old system or that I have studied the new system in depth. Anything that will simplify the system of VAT on commercial property and on residential property in some cases, however, will have an enormous impact and reduce professional service costs for solicitors and accountants. In my experience, solicitors ring accountants who ring back and vice versa. Nobody knows where he or she is going much of the time with VAT on property. We often end up ringing the Revenue Commissioners asking for an opinion and that is wasteful of their time too.

I commend the Tánaiste on the review that has taken place. There has been much consultation on VAT on property between the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Finance and the various professions involved. This is very important because it has driven up costs unnecessarily.

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