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

I am aware of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight's work in the area of tax expenditures, and the publication of a report on the topic earlier this month. The committee met with representatives of my Department and Revenue in January 2019. It also met separately with the Parliamentary Budget Office, and with the economist, Dr. Micheál Collins from the school of social policy in UCD.

The Committee on Budgetary Oversight report acknowledges that estimates of revenue forgone can be different due to different definitions of what is included in tax expenditure. The figures of €10 billion to €15 billion of revenue forgone quoted in the Deputy’s question is from the opening statement to the committee by Dr. Micheál Collins. The Parliamentary Budget Office aggregate cost estimate is in the region of €5 billion based on the Department of Finance's classification which is narrower and is aligned with an OECD’s definition of tax expenditure.

The work on tax expenditures review is a continuous process. The 2017 tax strategy group paper on the topic noted that significant advances have been made in the analysis of tax expenditures. Therefore, in the Department’s 2014 tax expenditure guidelines, a comprehensive analytical process for evaluations and ex-anteevaluations of proposed new tax incentives were put in place.

With regards to the eight recommendations made in the report by the committee, these are currently being considered by my Department and by the Revenue Commissioners.

See this speech in context