Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is why I did not indicate to anybody what I was doing and the budget speculation on this measure began only a day or two before budget day, but it was contained in the tax strategy papers I published during the summer. Anybody who says they were not aware this was an option the Government was considering needs to read the papers we publish during the summer much more carefully in future.

In response to the two different points put by Deputy Fitzmaurice, I think he agrees with much of the rationale for my doing this. He has a significant disagreement about its impact on people in rural Ireland who are involved in land purchases or are looking to make land purchases in the future.

I understand the concerns raised by organisations and members of farming organisations and those involved in buying agricultural land. Different Members raised those issues with me. I acknowledge in particular the work of Deputy Deering in the aftermath of the budget in articulating issues of concern and working with me, as did the Ministers of State, Deputies D'Arcy and O'Donovan, and Deputy Heydon. They helped me understand issues that were developing and how we could respond to matters while retaining the overall shape of what we were trying to do.

9 o’clock

That is why I made the decision to remove the age limit in the implementation of consanguinity relief. I undertook considerable work on the matter. Some people advised that I move the age from 68 to 69 years, I was even advised to bring it to 70 years but I decided the best course of action would be to remove it entirely and instead to provide an incentive for farm consolidation by subsetting that for a number of years time, and flagging that this clause and relief is available for a period of some years after which a new age limit will be put in.

After we dealt with that another issue was raised regarding farm consolidation and the very same young farmers to whom the Deputy referred who may own many different pieces of land, or may want to acquire another piece of land, either to consolidate their farm holding or have a single farm holding with that farm holding to be located in a number of different places. That issue was raised with me, particularly in the context of dairy farmers, which is why I made the next change by bringing in relief in relation to farm consolidation which I set at 1%. I did so in order to bring it into line with what we are doing in relation to the management of consanguinity and abolishing the age limit in relation to it.

If I accept these amendments, my challenge is that for the first time I will be separating different forms of non-residential commercial property and while the Deputy will raise an issue with me on non-residential commercial property in rural Ireland what will happen after that is that small business owners will make the point to me that if this relief applies to a small farmer why does it not apply to a small business. If we go down that route, we begin to fragment a tax base which is essential for the type of change in the tax code to which I referred earlier which is important that we make.

For those reasons I am not in a position to accept the Deputies' amendments.

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