Shane Ross (Independent)

In that case, let us have a cost-benefit analysis. Senator Mary White should note that a cost-benefit analysis has been conducted of such incentives. The Minister or his officials will be aware that both Indecon and Goodbody Economic Consultants examined all of these tax benefits in the raw and the round some years ago and came up with some startling conclusions. They concluded that some of them were okay and of benefit to the economy and employment but that a lot of them were a complete waste of money and utterly counter-productive and benefited builders and developers. In the round, however, they stated all of them put together were of very little benefit to either the economy or the people. Consequently, it is only reasonable for Members to call for an examination to ascertain whether such incentives make sense economically, environmentally and in every other way. It is staggering to even think more such incentive schemes are being introduced without knowing whether they will be beneficial. I accept they are introduced in a hurry and that some of them have been beneficial, but why can we not have in place an independent outside body, outside the Department of Finance which is suspect in its analysis of everything at this point, to decide whether such incentives will benefit the people for whom they have supposedly been introduced? Whatever Senators Mooney and Walsh may say, many of them were introduced for builders and the people who benefited. Moreover, were a cost-benefit analysis to be carried out of many of the aforementioned property schemes, they would be even worse overall because ordinary people are suffering as a result of falling for the bait. Consequently, it is only reasonable that such analysis be made in advance, not afterwards. If the Minister could look at what Indecon and Goodbody found, they found all these schemes should not have been introduced at all.