Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to Senator Reilly and the Minister of State for speaking prematurely during the previous debate.

Section 35 replaces existing capital gains tax relief applying to the disposal of qualifying assets by individual entrepreneurs and business people with a simplified relief of 20% rather than 33%. In the section the qualifying business refers to activities such as development land and the letting of land and so on. However, are there sufficient protections as to where the money goes after the business is sold? Does it go back into a productive activity? That is my concern.

Of course we want entrepreneurship, products, employment and all of those but are there protections that this money will not be spent on property? This was a concern of the Minister's when we discussed the Strategic Banking Corporation - that it would not lend money for property purchase. That is what got the State into trouble before and is not something we want at this stage. Is there protection if the money was to be spent on something which was less dangerous to the economy; if someone was to take up gambling or bought a deck chair and pipe and slippers and exhibited no further entrepreneurship ever, why would we give someone an incentive to do that?