Derek McDowell (Labour)

I wonder what the real position is and to what extent the Revenue knows the number of taxpayers availing of particular reliefs. Even more pointedly, I wonder to what extent the Minister knows. I ask the Minister if he has statistics which he can consider each year in the context of the Finance Bill. Is he aware of the number of individuals or companies who are availing of a particular relief? It is surely a vital piece of information when it comes to assessing the worthwhile nature of a relief.

I find the history of this a little puzzling. I remember being told a few years ago by the Minister that Revenue did not compile these figures and it can only make a stab at the amount of tax being foregone. As the Minister rightly pointed out, last year or the year before last, Revenue produced estimates but it is not clear where the estimates came from because they are not accompanied by any backup statistics in terms of the number of people availing of the reliefs to allow one to make a realistic assessment of what the statistics mean exactly. Has the mechanism changed and does the Minister have all the information available to him, even though it is not published?