David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 332: To ask the Minister for Finance the value of the capital allowances for expenditure on the construction, refurbishment or extension of child care premises which meet the required standards of the Child Care Act 1999 each year since its introduction in the Finance Act 1999; the number of extra child care places created as a result of this initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22854/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Capital allowances are available for child care facilities since their introduction in Finance Act 1999. Under the normal self-assessment rules any person seeking to claim capital allowances in respect of a qualifying building would submit their claim on the appropriate tax return form. Claims for this relief are aggregated in tax returns with other claims, such as with industrial buildings allowances generally or with other capital allowances, and do not distinguish between the reliefs claimed in respect of child care facilities and those claimed in respect of other buildings qualifying for capital allowances. Consequently it is not possible for Revenue to indicate the level of uptake of the specific incentive relating to child care facilities.

However, as part of ongoing commitments to improve the quality of information available on the costs of tax expenditures generally the Revenue Commissioners have introduced a number of changes to certain tax forms, which will yield additional information regarding the cost of reliefs. Provisions were included in the Finance Act 2004 to underpin these changes. This will provide better data in this area and enable fuller estimates of the tax foregone to be made over time.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Finance the value of the benefit in kind exemption for employers providing free or subsidised child care for their employees each year since its introduction in the Finance Act 1999; the number of extra child care places available in the workplace as a result of this initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22855/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, as taxpayers are not required to provide details of the benefit-in-kind arising from employer-provided child care in their tax returns, there is no basis on which an estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of this tax exemption can be provided. Similarly, there is no basis on which the number of extra child care places that have been created as a result of this initiative can be provided.