Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)

It is an extraordinary volte-face, to say the least.

I do not fully comprehend the Minister's logic in his defence of exempting ARFs from the scope of the levy. This is the first time we are imposing a levy on pension funds. The imputed or actual tax on ARFs exists; it is a fact of life. That is only right because we are dealing with some of the wealthiest people in the country who, as Deputy Fleming rightly said, have extremely large pension pots. That tax has been in place for some time. Now for the first time we are imposing a tax on private pension funds but we are exempting the ARFs.

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