Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin opposes this measure because of its cost. In 2010, SARP cost the taxpayer €28.1 million.If its cost continues to increase at the same rate of 55% between 2017 and 2020, it could be as much as €105 million next year. Under the scheme, an employee earning a salary of €1.1 million will be able to write off 30% of his or her income in excess of €75,000, which would reduce income tax liability by €123,000. There is an innate unfairness in a system, which results in such employees paying a rate of 28% on income above the standard rate band while most other workers pay 40%. The Government has provided only €5 million for lone parents supports and €18 million to increase medical card thresholds and alleviate the waiting lists for home help, for which we costed an allocation of €59 million into our alternative budget, yet it is likely to give away €105 million under this scheme, of which 1,084 employees availed in 2017. This is a transfer of wealth from people who can least afford it to people who can afford it. On that basis, we are strongly opposed to the section.