Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A few thoughts arise from the contributions made on the amendments, and as I did not hear some of the earlier ones, I hope I am neither failing to grasp a point already made nor doubling up. However, I refer to some situations that may arise, especially after the recent credit collapse and destruction of the economy. There could be some cases in which a parent clears half a million of debt for a son or daughter as a result of negative equity. Is that a gift? The Minister of State might think about that. On top of clearing the debt, one has tax to pay off the difference between €500,000 and €225,000, which would be absurd when the essence of clearing the debt is to improve the economy. There are other situations, such as expensive elective surgery for relations. For instance, I believe Deputy Adams was in the United States for highly expensive surgery.

See this speech in context