Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

All of that money will still come in. The Deputy is referring to the 1%. There was an increase to 2% and then the clawback of the tax occurred. The truth is that I will not know the outcome until the end of the year. The shortfall will be made up by the Exchequer because my Department does not have funding available to meet it. We will be obliged to wait to see what will be the outcome.

In fairness to those involved in the industry, it became clear, following the recent and dramatic change in people's fortunes, economic activity, etc., that the gain would have been quite marginal. It also became clear that, if we had proceeded on the basis originally intended, many small operators would have been obliged to close down and that many people in rural areas would have lost their jobs.

The taxation relating to this issue comes under the remit of the Minister for Finance. Key officials in his Department have been engaged in an examination of the taxation side of this matter for some time. They also have been considering some of the issues to which the Deputy refers. Therefore, two Departments are involved in investigating the matter but the officials from the Department of Finance are taking a strong lead role in respect of the taxation side. They want the issue to be resolved and we are being extremely supportive in assisting them in reaching that point.

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