Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I congratulate the Minister of State. They say love is blind and marriage is an eye-opener.

We in Sinn Féin believe in a tax system that is fair. As part of this, inheritance tax is an important tool to tackle inequality and invest in public services to deliver a fair society. However, the current system is highly discriminatory towards beneficiaries of estates left by people with no children.

The capital acquisitions tax, CAT, regime applies a rate of 33% on gifts or inheritances above a certain tax-free threshold that depends on the beneficiary’s relationship to the person who gives them the gift or inheritance. For spouses and civil partners, inheritances are tax-free. Children inheriting from a parent can receive up to €400,000 tax-free. For other relatives, a tax-free threshold of €40,000 applies, while non-relatives can receive up to €20,000 tax-free.

The threshold that applies to the beneficiaries of an estate of childless adults is, quite simply, discriminatory and extremely unfair to all of Ireland's 1 million childless citizens. Among them are a significant number of LGBTQ+ folk, who face added barriers when it comes to growing a family or who simply do not wish to have children. Thankfully, Irish society has changed greatly in recent decades, and more and more people now live in situations where the traditional family model does not apply.

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Lately, I have been contacted by several constituents who do not have children and this issue is of real concern for them. One woman has spoken to me and said she has no children of her own but her younger cousin lives with her and acts as her carer. She intends to leave the house to her cousin. However, if she does, she fears her cousin will have to sell the house in order to cover the capital acquisitions tax bill. I am not advocating for anything to be taken away from parents and their children. Instead, we are simply advocating for equality and an end to the discrimination faced by all childless citizens. It is not fair or equitable that a nephew inheriting a home valued at €400,000 from a childless uncle will have to pay a tax bill of €118,800 while a child inheriting a €400,000 home from a parent will have to pay a tax bill of €0. For example, the Taoiseach can pass assets of up to €1.2 million to his three children tax free while the childless assistant can only pass assets worth €120,000 - ten times less - tax free to nieces and nephews.

The Government now knows very well the profound financial impact the current discriminatory rules will have on childless citizens and their loved ones. Their loved ones will be faced with additional punitive taxes, running into tens of thousands and, in many cases, hundreds of thousands of euro solely because of their childless status. For so many elderly childless constituents, time may sadly not be on their side. I will continue to call for an overhaul of the inheritance tax system, as the current rules are so blatantly inequitable and discriminatory. They are unfit for purpose, given the varied family structures that operate in Ireland today. Budgetary matters can never be allowed to supersede equality matters for childless citizens. Whatever economic challenges may lie ahead in this country, the burden of inheritance tax must be urgently reformed for the betterment of all our citizens.

I have dealt with a lot of elderly people who do not understand what capital acquisitions tax is. There is a fear out there, especially in the current climate where houses are so scarce. Family members are actually terrified and do not know whether they can will their properties back to their kids, cousins or whoever and what will happen. Will there be an initial financial burden, which there is? That is why I wanted to flag it here tonight in the hope the Minister of State will be able to give me an answer for those constituents to whom I have been talking.

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