David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To be fair, there is not a huge difference between the take of the Minister and Senator Byrne on this issue. I do not believe the proposers of the amendment had items of the value of ¤100,000, ¤200,000 or ¤300,000 in mind. It was the engagement ring and other significant items of jewellery the Senator had in mind.

I welcome the clarification from the Minister. His use of the term "family significance" is better and I welcome it. We will discuss the matter on Report Stage but I would have some concern about the figure of ¤500. It may be some time since the Minister bought an engagement ring but in recent years one would not get much of a ring for ¤500. It would cost significant amounts upwards of that figure.

A figure of ¤2,000 may be more relevant. A sum of ¤500 is too low and I ask the Minister to bear that in mind if he is framing an amendment on Report Stage.