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

As I said, more than 17,000 taxpayer units have made a claim for this credit so far. In excess of €14 million has been paid out and that number is increasing all the time. It is relatively straightforward to make a claim. I encourage all those who are eligible for this credit to make a claim through the PAYE Anytime system online as quickly as they can.

It is a non-refundable tax credit. The system the Deputy is referring to is akin to the old system, where tax relief was provided at source, and when designing this credit in the months leading up to the budget last year, I explored with the Revenue Commissioners the option of doing it that way but the IT infrastructure was simply not there and could not have been developed or procured within the period in question. The system on which we decided, therefore, seeks to give as much support as possible to as many people as are eligible. I believe the number of people claiming will continue to increase and we should collectively encourage the many people who are eligible for this credit to avail of it.

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