Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 26, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:

"(4) The Minister shall, within one year of the passing of this act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report detailing the volume of relief sought and secured under this section and the increased volume of trade in the relevant states secured during the period of time for which the relief was claimed.".

This relief is one of a number of tax reliefs the Minister introduced, claiming that they will lead to job creation. Amendments Nos. 10 and 11 seek to ensure this is the effect of the tax reliefs. Previous Governments were very fond of introducing tax reliefs to enrich small groups of people, while claiming that they would be good for the economy as a whole. As a result, the Exchequer lost billions in revenue foregone every year with little, if any, social or economic gain to the State.

While we are not suggesting that this is the Minister's intention with respect to this section of the Bill, it is only right that those seeking to avail of this relief should do more to demonstrate they are deserving of the substantial tax windfalls they will secure. Failure to do this will lead many people to conclude that the Government is simply following in the same footsteps of its predecessors by placing the majority of the tax burden on low and middle income earners while reducing the tax burden on those already very well rewarded for their employment.

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