Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for providing clarity. The experience in the past 12 months or so bears out the point that we and many others raised at the time that the income stream from self-employed returns was in the region of €1 billion. Even if the estimate was out by 15%, the difference would be €150 million. In the overall context, such a sum would be somewhat immaterial and not have justified the massive inconvenience that would have been caused by changing the pay and file arrangements. There would have been cash-flow issues for businesses and consequences for professional advisers, who are responsible for putting together and filing returns. It would have brought the process back to the summer season and August, the normal time for examinations and study leave, as well as holidays and so forth. As that would have caused problems, I am glad that the Minister has committed to not making a change in the lifetime of the Government. It is a welcome clarification and the sector will appreciate it. As the Minister indicated, it will be a matter for future Ministers to decide on future policy.

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