Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Minister is going back to the well. There is a real danger that he will go back to this particular well again and there needs to be some modifications if it is to be a long-term feature. On Committee Stage, we debated some of its features, including minimum tax, how it applied to low incomes and unsatisfactory features. The longer term direction of merging this back into the tax code needs to emerge from the Minister. That is why I thought it important to again table this amendment. In terms of the levy on the life insurance industry, I understand there have been discussions with the Minister's Department since the issue was briefly considered on Committee Stage. What was the outcome of those discussions and will the Minister be able to deal with the industry's fears regarding the distortion of competition? It complained that the high compliance cost is also impacting on the industry. I have not been able to evaluate this but those concerns have been brought to our attention. I should like if the Minister could deal with those aspects.

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