Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

This has been an issue for a long time, dating back to the Dónal de Buitléir report in the mid-1990s. It was a time when the tax records of the self employed, be they farmers or people with small businesses, were far less accurate and up to date and, I dare say, probably capable of a manipulation then that is not the case now. I accept that the regulatory framework and the taxation and scrutiny of self employed people, along with the advent of modern technology, have made the situation far different. Nevertheless, to have a level playing pitch, it is reasonable to include a means testing mechanism which takes into account assets in addition to the family home, which a PAYE worker would have in most instances and which never formed part of the means testing assessment basis, to see if there is room for some degree of evaluation above and beyond the nominal household income for the purposes of determining ability to pay in respect of an application for a grant.

As I said earlier, work is still ongoing. I will publish the report when it becomes available and we will have a discussion on it. Depending on the outcome of that discussion and whatever recommendations emerge from it, we will take it to the Government in the first instance and legislative changes would then be necessary. Any change that will emerge from this process will not take effect until the 2013-14 academic year, so there is plenty of time for me to respond to the Deputy and to the House.

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