Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have all heard it said that two wrongs do not make a right. As Senator Chambers alluded to, the previous Brexit Bill was emergency legislation and this level of focus was not put on it. We are focusing on it now. We are identifying the weaknesses in it and putting our case to Government. Again our heads are on the guillotine and we are told that we have to have this done next week. Senator Chambers has made an offer for the Seanad to sit the following week, if that is required, to amend this legislation.

The Minister of State has said there is no point in having a review if nothing has changed. That is wrong. One could carry out a review in 12 months and know exactly how much tax had been claimed back. The Government would then have a full suite of revenue and VAT rebate figures to allow for a review of the measure next year. It is wrong to say that it would serve no purpose. It would serve an incredibly important purpose; it would give an indication of how and if the scheme is working.

The Minister has made the claim that it is only a matter of €9. That is factually incorrect and I ask him to withdraw it. That figure is per transaction, which goes back to my initial point that the threshold is set per transaction rather than on a cumulative spend. That is where I have a problem with this legislation. If the threshold applied to cumulative spend, it would be different. People could make multiple claims for €9 if they spend €75 in each shop. They could make 50,000 claims for €9 tomorrow morning if they wanted to. It is, therefore, wrong to say that it is only a matter of €9. If a visitor spends €500, he or she will get 21% back. That is what tax-free shopping means.

I need the Minister of State to clarify on the floor of the House that it is not just a matter of €9, because one can make claims in respect of multiple transactions. That is why I disagreed with this provision in the first place. I would have no problems with a threshold on cumulative spend but I have an issue with a threshold of €75 per transaction per shop. I asked the Minister of State to accept, on behalf of the Minister of Finance, that this legislation will have a direct and immediate impact on small retailers in our towns and villages. That is where this measure will have the greatest impact. These retailers have not had the option to open this year at all. We do not know what will happen next year. I need the him to come back on those points because he has said a few things that are factually incorrect.