Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My good friend Deputy Broughan is entitled to an answer to his question about cost-benefit analysis, and I have no difficulty giving it. We normally do a cost-benefit analysis when we give taxes out rather than take taxes in. Normally, the analysis is published on the day the Minister gives the statement. It is often an appendix to his speech. Deputy Broughan's point is that there could be a cost to the public health care system as a consequence of this, but it would not be normal for a cost-benefit analysis to be done in a circumstance in which we are taking some tax back. That must be seen in the context of the total amount of tax foregone. Nobody would stand over a situation in which we allowed this to rapidly increase year on year when there are such competing demands for the resources we have on the tax side.

Deputy Naughten is relying on the VHI. One picks the people one wants to rely on. We are relying on the estimate of €127 million for the total amount that will be taken back on this, and that comes from Revenue figures. We would dispute the view of the VHI and other elements of the industry. We never argued that 43% was a majority. Deputy Naughten needs to get the words right. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, said that 43% of people would be unaffected by this and, of the 57% of people who could potentially be affected, the great majority of those would be affected only marginally, so in the round the effects will be borne more substantially by people with larger premiums. We had a very good discussion on Committee Stage and Report Stage. We have to do this as a means of tapering tax credits.

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