Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for acknowledging there is a role for political judgment in all these decisions. As he well knows, given the way the public finances were managed, in the base it was provided that the underlying rate here is 13.5%. Accordingly, there is a cost to the Exchequer in the form of providing additional resources by way of revenue foregone were we to continue with the 9% rate over a longer period. That is why I have acknowledged there is a cost of €300 million associated with the extension to the end of August. We will have a Finance Bill in the coming weeks, so the mechanics of it will be the subject of a discussion through the normal legislative process. However, it is my intention and the Government decision that the rate will return to 13.5% on 1 September.

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