Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for Finance the expected cost of making the unused part of personal tax credits refundable to those low income earners who are currently on the Revenue Commissioner's records and do not benefit from the credit. [23654/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the most recent estimated cost of making the main personal tax credits refundable when they are unused is broadly in the region of €2.1 billion annually. The main category of refund would relate to the employee credit where the annual cost of refunding the unused portion of the credit to income earners with insufficient income to fully absorb it would amount to €1.1 billion approximately. The next categories of refund in order of scale would be the basic personal credit — single, married and widowed — costing €1 billion approximately.

The estimate of €2.1 billion relates only to the cost of extending refundable tax credits to all those on Revenue's tax files. If a refundable tax credit system were to be introduced, one would have to consider those who are not on the tax files, for example, those who are of employable age but not working, including those in social welfare. This would increase the cost significantly.

Apart from the issue of cost, there would be a range of other policy and practical difficulties arising in introducing such a system. I have no plans to introduce refundable tax credits at the present time.