Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy is well aware, I was speaking in the context of the banking position in Ireland. However, in respect of the matter under discussion here, the greatest resistance to removing these tax reliefs comes from Departments that view them as a form of expenditure within their own remit. There must be a detailed engagement Department by Department well in advance of the budget such that these tax expenditures are viewed in the same way as any voted expenditure within the Government system. That is how to make practical progress on this issue, not by recourse to generalised rhetoric about the current economic position or a generalised targeting of individual begrudgery about certain individuals or companies operating within that system. Let us hold such a rational cost-benefit analysis to determine what Departments can throw up in favour of these reliefs and the Government can make a collective decision on them.

Serious issues arise in respect of restricting the tail of reliefs because, as the Deputy is aware, there are private hospitals near our constituency and hotels in our constituency the future viability of which would be totally prejudged were one to simply cut off the tail in an arbitrary way and everyone realises as much.

See this speech in context