Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Technically, I guess the Minister is not able to respond to the question I am about to ask him but he can tell me later, if he would. First, I acknowledge the offer, which I think is genuine, and I hope the Minister will be persuaded not by the legal argument but by the political argument - the human argument. People's lives have been destroyed. People have left the country over this. There are people living in fear of getting a call from the Revenue Commissioners saying they have been renting for five years and have not paid any tax, and that they owe €50,000. Obviously, they should not be doing that but there are people in this situation. I have met people who sit down at the end of the year and fill in their self-assessments, trying to figure out where in the name of God they are going to find €5,000 that they never had to pay before when they are not earning a penny more, while their children are growing and eating their wages at an accelerating rate.

I will ask a clarifying question and the Minister might respond to me after the debate. When he says he will meet me later this year, is there an opportunity to get this into law for 1 January 2018 or is he talking about engaging later on in the year with a view to putting it into the budget next year?

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