Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Following on from the issue my colleague raised earlier, I want to add my voice to the concern that we intend to fund many of the increases announced in the budget from stamp duty. As Deputy Calleary has said, the Minister was one of the people who advocated against funding day-to-day expenditure through stamp duty, which is a tax that is not guaranteed. It is transaction based so there is no guarantee of a continuous stream of funding. What assessment was done? What are the projected figures for 2018 based on? How were they assessed? Is the Minister confident those figures will be reached? In the event they are not reached, what plans does the Government have to fill the potential shortfall?

The Minister referred to the transitional period. With regard to people who have purchased commercial property through auctions and have paid their deposit, are those transactions covered under transactional payment? Does it apply to anybody who has exchanged contracts to date? The Minister also referred to the potential for a refund for people who have purchased commercial property and seek permission to convert it to residential property. Will there be a refund system and if so, will the Minister enlighten us as to what it will be?

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