Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The downside of this is that all of these tax breaks are capitalised in higher land prices. We mentioned earlier that one of the differences between Ireland and New Zealand is that New Zealand pulled all these subsidies and grants out and the price of land fell, leading to new people entering agriculture. We are making land more expensive and, therefore, people cannot get into it. That is part of the row the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine must cope with over the level of subsidies attached to agriculture in Ireland that are not related to production. It refers to more than agriculture but to have ¤3 million worth of assets to dispose of is an achievement in itself. How they managed to get this tax break I do not know.

What this shows is that future finance Bills must have the arguments made in full before they are published and we get them. While these sessions are useful, it would be beneficial if we could see in a measured way if there were deserving cases given all that is going on in the country. I will not press the recommendation, but section 48 is along the same lines. The fact some people get the right to dispose of ¤3 million worth of assets free of capital gains tax when we are pursuing people with much small incomes for much heavier burdens indicates that finance Bills must be taken in a wider context in future.