Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think it is incumbent to state that quite a number of us in the Chamber are active members of trade unions and would personally benefit from that financially, and I am one of those. Senator Gavan and I have debated the benefits of trade union membership many times previously. I do not think I was ever found wanting on that, which is why I was quite taken by some of these comments. I could talk about the transposition of European directives at length, but I know that Senator Higgins raised that with the current Minister, as is appropriate, this morning.

I wish to speak specifically to this recommendation in two points. First, I do not think the comparison with professional bodies is fair, particularly because the tax reduction for fees paid to professional bodies is available in restricted circumstances only, where those fees are incurred wholly, exclusive and necessarily by an individual in the performance of the duties of his or her employment. This occurs, for example, where there is a statutory requirement for membership of a professional body or where there is a requirement for a practising certificate or licence. Therefore, let us not make that comparison. We can have this debate without having that comparison, which is unfair and out of place.

The tax relief for trade union subscriptions, which was previously provided for under section 472C of the Taxes Consolidation Act, was introduced in 2001 and abolished from 2011 onward. It was in place for just ten years. It was abolished in line with the national recovery plan with a view to widening the tax base. Prior to 2011, the level of tax relief available equated to a tax credit of €70 per annum per trade union member. Do not get me wrong: I would love another €70 per annum if this was to come through and I would benefit from that, as would others.

A number of reviews have examined this tax relief, and all have found that there is no policy rationale for either its continuation or reintroduction. The 2009 Commission on Taxation recommended that the relief be discontinued as membership of a union is not influenced by the value of the tax credit, and there was a significant element of deadweight associated with the relief. A further review carried out by the Department of Finance in 2016 and published on budget day that year found that the reinstatement of tax relief for trade union subscriptions would consist largely of deadweight as it would have little incentive effect on the numbers choosing to join trade unions. It also found that there was no specific market failure that needed to be addressed by such a scheme. The introduction of such a relief was examined again in the 2020 tax strategy group papers.The Department of Finance carried out a further analysis which took stock of matters in relation to the issue of tax relief for trade union subscriptions and set out a number of policy options for consideration. This exercise suggested that, based on certain assumptions about numbers of beneficiaries, the measure could cost at least €36.9 million if reintroduced with the same level of support that existed in 2010. The review found that the findings of previous reviews remained valid in regard to the potentially significant deadweight element that would accompany the measure.

As outlined, consecutive reviews of the measure have found there is not a strong policy rationale for the reintroduction of the relief. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, believes the findings of the reviews remain valid and, accordingly, does not believe a report along the lines requested by the Senator is necessary or warranted.

It is important to allow the facts to speak. Let us not get pulled into the emotion and the wider argument but instead determine what actually matters: the cost and the cost benefit. Unfortunately, the benefit does not exist in this case. After the past four and a half years of engagement, I am really disappointed that Senator Gavan has made a party-political point. I do not believe-----