Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We now have a commercial property bubble, without doubt. It is not the same type of bubble that we saw in 2006. The current bubble is not credit fuelled. It is tax efficient fund structures fuelled. It is also foreign investments. It is unbelievable that until the President puts his signature on this legislation any foreign investor buying commercial property in this country, and the rents that they get for their commercial property, are completely tax free. That is what has caused a bubble in Dublin. That is what has resulted in 38% of Dublin being sold in the past three years. That is why in Dublin we have the second highest commercial property rents in Europe. If that is not considered a bubble then we need to wake up. We have a serious problem here. That is why the IMF and Moody's have issued warnings. That is why the ministerial advisers and experts in the Department in the tax strategy papers have recommended that we should increase stamp duty on commercial property, which is not happening, because of what has happened with commercial property. There is a need to dampen down that type of investment. Everybody knows this. Some of the Government's backbenchers have complained that there is filibustering. I have spent a long time dealing with Finance Bills and the debate on the Finance Bill 2016 is the most thorough examination of certain aspects, particularly in terms of the funds and section 110s. Other areas have gone without the proper scrutiny in previous Finance Bills. Thankfully, we are all working on this Bill and are starting to reverse the position.

I ask the Minister to accept an amendment that we will table in the Seanad that will rephrase this amendment to state "at the earliest opportunity in which the data is available and every 12 months thereafter that the Minister will lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas the amount of revenue foregone as a result of this section of the Finance Bill".

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