Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

I support the amendment. From a practical viewpoint it is reasonable that the Minister would introduce an amendment in the Seanad debate to deal specifically with heritage sites. This is a site that is open to the public but it will probably be impossible to properly develop it without this measure and would have been examined in the context that the 80% windfall tax would not have applied. Surely it would be possible that the Minister could examine this from the point of view of dealing with heritage sites that are open to the public to ensure they would be exempted from the 80% windfall tax.

The issue of the windfall tax was dealt with in one of the last amendments but we never got an opportunity to discuss it at any stage. It was tabled on Report Stage. Brownfield sites are another example. The Minister might consider examining this issue before the Seanad debate. We are concerned here with developing facilities that are open to the public yet the Minister is putting what is effectively a barrier in place for this sort of development to take place.

I ask the Minister to accept the points on which I am sure Deputy Ring will conclude and examine this issue in a practical way in terms of heritage sites and other such sites. We may have had an opportunity to discuss it in great depth if the debate on that amendment had not been guillotined.

See this speech in context