Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 77: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide an amnesty for old age pensioners against the payment of annual Government automatic teller machine card charges considering the disincentive this charge is providing for pensioners towards using financial institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12553/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Stamp duty exists on various financial cards in order to provide Exchequer revenue. The stamp duty on cheques, bills of exchange and promissory notes has existed for many years and when electronic means of money transfers were subsequently introduced, stamp duty was gradually extended to these products to ensure that the stamp duty from cheques etc. was not eroded. The current annual rates of stamp duty are as follows: credit card account and charge card —€40; ATM card without a debit function —€10; debit card without an ATM function —€10; and combined ATM and debit card —€20. The stamp duty applies irrespective of the volume of bank transactions made. I do not believe that these charges are either excessive or act as a disincentive for pensioners using financial institutions. There are no plans to introduce such exemptions to stamp duty for any category of individual.

Section 128 of the Finance Act 2005 contained measures to eliminate a double stamp duty charge on the switching of financial cards and this year's Finance Bill contains provisions to reduce the stamp duty on combined ATM and debit cards to €10, where only one function — either ATM or debit function — is used during the year. Stamp duties on financial cards are significant contributors to the Exchequer and are in accordance with the overall taxation policy of widening the tax base in order to keep direct tax rates generally low. In 2005, the stamp duty on ATM, debit and combined cards contributed €37.8 million to the Exchequer while the yield from credit cards was €63.8 million.

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Finance the amount collected to date by the Revenue Commissioners through special investigations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12391/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that figures for the total yield from various special investigations and initiatives by the Revenue Commissioners for the years 1998 to 2005 and updated to 28 February 2006 are set out in the following table. Yield from special investigations up to end February 2006.