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

That is a very helpful suggestion because I am aware of the concern with regard to this matter. It is worth making the point that the whole purpose of this scheme being brought in is to keep a job, and the reason the payments in respect of it need to be taxed is that most social welfare payments are, in principal, taxable. It is important to maintain fairness in how income supports that are being made available for the State are taxed or are not taxed.

To deal with the substantive point the Deputy made, it is a good idea and I will talk to Revenue about it to see if we can provide clarity to individual taxpayers on what their individual circumstances could be.

On the Deputy's second question on whether a decision will be made on 2021 and beyond, I imagine the view of the Revenue Commissioner will be that the amount of time the taxpayer has to settle the outstanding liability could vary from taxpayer to taxpayer, depending on his or her circumstances and on the bill.

Regarding the Deputy's final point, if a person loses his or her job before the end of the year, I imagine that if there is a liability, it will travel with him or her as he or she moves into the next tax year regardless of what his or her job is, but I will double-check that. I will get back to him on it. I will also certainly consider the suggestion he made regarding a calculator.

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