Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 380: To ask the Minister for Finance the cost to the State of tax forgone from the introduction of schemes (details supplied) for each year up to the year to date. [29134/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the available information as to the cost to the Exchequer of the exemption of certain earnings of writers, composers and artists is in respect of claimants who made income tax returns for the five income tax years 1998-99 to 2002, the latest year for which it is available. The information is as follows: 1998-99, €24.5 million; 1999-2000, €29.9 million; 2000-01, €37.1 million; 2001, €25.7 million; and 2002, €23.9 million.

Claims for the other reliefs mentioned in the question are aggregated in tax returns with other claims and do not distinguish at present between the reliefs claimed in respect of different schemes. Accordingly, the specific information on costs is not currently available. Provisions were included in the Finance Act 2004 to get much of this data separately in future. The preliminary data should become available from early 2006 after the returns for 2004 are filed in October 2005.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 381: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on the work undertaken by consultants to review the tax reliefs to high earners; the name of the consultants; the budget allocated for the cost of each such consultancy; the scope of the work; when the report will be available; and if he will publish the reports. [29135/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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In the 2005 budget, I announced a comprehensive programme of reviews of a broad range of tax incentive schemes and tax exemptions. Many of these schemes are being reviewed internally within the Department of Finance and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. In addition, following a competitive tendering process, two external consultancy firms were retained to conduct reviews of the range of property-based tax incentive schemes. The two firms in question are Goodbody Economic Consultants and Indecon International Economic Consultants.

The terms of reference for the consultancy studies are set out in a press release issued on 6 January 2005, which is publicly available on the press releases section of my Department's website, www.finance.gov.ie. Completed reports from the two consultancy firms are expected shortly. I am not yet in a position to indicate any likely publication date for these studies.

As regards costs, the contracts stipulate that Indecon International Economic Consultants are to be paid the sum of €224,004, before VAT, in respect of the review of certain property-based schemes, and that Goodbody Economic Consultants are to be paid the sum of €155,400, before VAT, in respect of the review of area-based tax incentive renewal schemes.