Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

No. I would welcome the opportunity to have that information shared with us. We understand there is a need to bring in an amendment of the law with regard to this section, and it has been brought in. It now emerges there may be what I think I am right to classify as unintended consequences, and the Minister needs to clarify what those unintended consequences are. However, there is still a belief that the section needs to be brought in to deal with other matters. The problem in front of us is that we will only have two choices in the future, that is, to implement the section or not to implement the section, and that choice will be solely the Minister’s.

The Minister indicated this on Committee Stage, so obviously it was flagged to him that there are potential concerns. What should be done is that we should use the time before the Bill goes to the Seanad to address this issue and to deal with it by amending the section, if needs be, and then allowing for the amended section to come into effect. The problem is that, if the Minister is convinced, from the correspondence he has had, that there are consequences for what he calls "legitimate structures" in Irish companies, then the only choice he will have is not to commence it at all. Does that not leave a gap? That is my concern. Why can this not be further looked at by the Revenue Commissioners and the Minister’s officials before the Bill goes to the Seanad for scrutiny? Can this not be addressed in a timely manner? Otherwise, as we know, it is unlikely the Minister will address this between now and next year's Finance Bill.

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